Ordinary to a Fault
by Fox's Rose
Summary: Being in the same class with two Host Club members isn't very easy, espeially when one of them always talking to you, wanting you to come with them. This is my life at Ouran, with my sisters, my father and a new family, oh and a maybe a boyfriend. Mori/OC
1. 00

**Note: I am editing Ordinary to a Fault and changing a few things in it. When I was rereading it, I realized that I really didn't like the way I was wording a few things, also a few things felt rushed or not really presented properly. So I'm doing a major edit. It will still be the same... in a sense, but it will be better written and not so jumbled around. There will only be a few things changed within the story, mainly more details will be added in.**

**I hope you guys will forgive me for my absence**

**- Fox's Rose**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, just my own characters.**

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The day began is it normally did in my home; I woke up early, showered, dressed for school before waking up my little sisters. The two of them would then fight with me until I managed to drag them out of their beds, threatening to leave them behind before leaving their room to start making breakfast for the three of us. We lived in a three bedroom apartment; it was just big enough for the three of us to live in comfort and we still had enough room for the times when we gained random visitors. As my sisters fought over who was going to shower first, I started setting the table as our rice, fish and miso soup cooked.

Five years ago our parents divorced each other, leaving me and my sister's at a loss of what to do. While I didn't want to go from one house to another all the time, I also didn't want to just have our kaa-san have full custody of us. In the end, our tou-san got full custody over us surprisingly, but they agreed to support me and my sisters until we were finished school. Thus we were given an apartment next to one of tou-san's friends, who also had a daughter the same age as my sisters. Yet, despite that agreement, we never received anything from our kaa-san nor had we heard anything from her. In the beginning, our tou-san always came to visit us and make sure we were doing alright. Once he was satisfied that the three of us were doing fine on our own, our tou-san stepped down a bit, letting us adapt to being on our own. Even though our neighbor always checked up on us every now and then, the same with our tou-san too of course.

I was in my last year of high school and attended the prestigious Ouran Academy, which was a school for the rich and elite. I have attended this school since my first year of high school and continued to keep my scholarship up. My sisters were also attending with me now as it was their first year of high school. Since we couldn't afford the uniforms for the school, my sisters and I ended up making due with our own clothes, preferring them to the uniforms offered.

Not that I minded of course, after all everyone in school that I was a boy anyway. With short, thick reddish brown hair, forest green eyes and pale skin, I didn't stick out a lot, and most of the students usually brushed me off. Yet, no matter how much time I spent with my nose in the books and kept to myself as an ordinary, boring, commoner; I still heard whispers about me through the halls. Not that it bothered me mind you; after all I was used to ridicule, odd stares, whispers and the occasion bullying. But I was never fazed, I was quite used to the attention, I kinda had to be with sisters like my own.

My name is Ryukoku, Makoto, an ordinary 17 year old girl living an extraordinary life. This is my adventure during my final year in high school with my sisters Ryukoku, Takara and Ryukoku, Yuzuki. This is an unexpected adventure that turns not my world upside down, but my sisters as well and decides to test not only our strength and resolve; but also our fate and the ties that have been created unknowingly.


	2. Chapter 2

I sighed, shaking my head a bit as I put our breakfast on the table. Takara and Yuzuki were fighting again. "Oi! Pinky and Hippy! Get a move on or else we'll be late for school!" I shouted at them. Pinky was Takara, as she had died her hair pink before school started. She skipped into the kitchen, sitting down at the table. She was wearing a black shirt with Sakura petals on it and a black skirt with pink crisscross patterns over it. Her pink hair was tied up in two pigtails and her sapphire eyes sparkled happily as she ate. Soon Yuzuki joined us, and began to eat. She was called hippy because she dressed liked one, she wore wide bellbottom blue jeans and a purple shirt with a brown vest over top. Her brown hair was braided into two low ponytails and her sky blue eyes were hidden behind her glasses in boredom.

I shook my head a bit, my already messy hair hanging down in front of my eyes. "How you two are related is beyond me." I muttered, cleaning up my finished dishes. I was wearing baggy blue jeans and a long sleeved olive shirt that was use to be our fathers. Underneath that, I was wearing a camisole on top of some bandages that bind my chest. I grabbed my bag once my sisters were finished eating and started heading towards the door. At the same time, we met up with our neighbour, Fujioka Haruhi.

The only reason we know each other is because our father is the same as hers, in a way. He also is an okama, and likes to make frequent visits sometimes when he visits with Ryoji, or rather Ranka, Haruhi-san's father.

Takara and Yuzuki ran over to the poor girl, who, when we had seen her last, had longer hair down to her waist, but was now scattered, much like my own. "Did you just get up Haruhi-chan?" Takara asked as she and Yuzuki linked their arms with hers. "Hai, I did. I don't want to be late for school." Was the girl's reply, already use to my sister's behaviours. "Mako-Onee-chan woke us up this morning." Yuzuki said with a pout, causing Haruhi to shake her head. "She probably did it with good reason. You two would be late for school if it weren't for her." Was Haruhi's blunt reply.

"Yea, yea, yea. Let's just get to school hm?" I mused walking a bit in front of the trio, slinging my bag over my shoulder casually. It wasn't anything new having the four of us walk together like this. It was quite normal really. I was either behind the trio of in front of them, taking on the role of older sibling. It didn't bother me to do so, I quite preferred it actually, it meant that no one would try to take advantage of my sisters.

All too soon though, the four of us reached the grand gates of Ouran high school and entered without much care. We had just as much right to be there as anyone else. After all, we passed there exam with flying marks, or so they had said. Stretching my neck a bit I saw the three to their class before making my way down to class 3-A. Along the way, I heard the whispers of the girls, commenting on how kind I was, and how responsible I was for looking after my younger siblings. I mentally sighed at the girls, my thoughts usually going back to 'What if they knew I was actually a girl.' But I had to smirk a bit at my guess. 'They probably would faint or deny that they never knew.' I mused.

Once in class 3-A, I took my seat next to the window, and took out my books for homeroom. I closed my eyes a bit before mentally cursing. I had forgotten to pack lunch for my sisters and myself. I placed a hand on my head, rubbing a bit. 'I think I have enough money to get something at the store at lunch.' I thought, not paying attention to my classmates who were coming in. 'Though, they'll probably mooch off of Haru-chan...' With that, I let out a sigh, feeling my shoulders sag a bit.

"Is something wrong Ryuu-kun?" A child like voice asked in concern. I had closed my eyes a bit, since I didn't have to worry about my sisters getting something to eat at lunch. "No Haninozuka-san, everything is fine."I said as I opened my eyes a bit, starring at my classmate.

Haninozuka, Mitsukuni also known as Honey, in the infamous Host Club. He was child like, looking like an elementary school student, instead of a high school one. From what I had gathered from being in class with him, he was very intelligent, always giving me a run for first place in the class standings. With his blonde hair and big honey brown eyes, he was the picture perfect of cute. He always carried around a pink stuffed bunny with him everywhere he went, and treated it like a human. He also loved sweets.

"That's good Ryuu-kun!" Haninozuka said with bright smile, and little pink flowers appearing behind him randomly. "You had me and Takashi a little worried." He added and my eyes trailed over to the tall silent male as he continued to speak. "Isn't that right Takashi? Ryuu-kun looked like he was sad about something." The tall male just nodded his head. "Ah." Was all the tall male said.

Morinozuka, Takashi, also known as Mori in the same club as Haninozuka. He was tall, stoic, and you could never really tell what he was feeling unless you knew him well enough, like Haninozuka did. After all, they were cousins. Morinozuka is a Kendo champion of the school, and was in the Kendo club, and was quite protective of Haninozuka. You really couldn't see the two of them without the other, if you did, it was rare, and probably because Morinozuka was in Kendo, or something.

"Neh, neh." Haninozuka said, grabbing my attention. I cocked my head to the side a bit, letting him know he could continue, which he did. "Will Ryuu-kun be coming up to the Third Music room with us today?" he asked, swaying back and forth on his heels. I suppose I forgot to mention this, but since I had started here, Haninozuka had tried to get me to come to the Host Club room, for some reason. I'm not sure why he kept asking me, since I usually always rejected the offer, saying that my studies were more important.

"I don't know Haninozuka. It will depend on my sisters." I told him, disliking the sad pout he was giving me. "Mitsukuni." Morinozuka said in a stern voice, causing Haninozuka to look up at him. "Okay Takashi." He said in defeat as they both walked to their seats, Haninozuka waving to me a bit. Their seats were near mine. Haninozuka sitting just diagonally from me in the front and Morinozuka sitting behind him, next to me.

I didn't know why I interested them, or why he tried to get to come to the club. 'I suppose they just don't know how hard we have to work since we don't have money like they do.' I mused as the teacher came in and the day finally started.

Lunch soon came around and I was walking down the hallway towards the garden to sit outside. I patted my stomach a little to help calm it down as it groaned for something to eat. "Oh hush now you. I'll find you something to eat when we get home later on." I mumbled to myself while covering my mouth to yawn. Since we almost had an hour for lunch, I decided that I could risk a short nap before we went into history.

I found a nice spot in the rose maze, and laid down on one of the benches, closing my eyes, and placed an arm over my head. The sun was high in the sky, and it was a bit warm out, nice for early spring. I think I fell asleep for maybe ten minutes when I smelt the familiar scent of salt and rice. I turned my head a bit and opened my eyes, seeing three onigiri in front of me, in the hands of Haninozuka. Quirking an eyebrow, I sat up, yawning once more into my hand.

"Haninozuka-san?" I asked him curiously, not knowing what to say exactly. Smiling brightly, my classmate placed the onigiri on my lap. "Takashi noticed you didn't have any lunch with you, and suggested that we buy you something." He chirped, sitting down beside me. That was when I noticed Morinozuka standing across from me, watching his cousin. "But we didn't know what you liked. I would have gotten you some cake... but I didn't know if you like strawberries." He said, his smile fading a bit before it perked right up. "But Takashi suggested that we get you something that everyone likes, onigiri!" he chirped once more.

I stared at my two classmates in surprise, before letting a small brief smile cross my lips. "Thank you Haninozuka-san, Morinozuka-san. That is very generous and thoughtful of you both." I said, and folded my hands together in silent prayer before I started eating. I noticed that Morinozuka was watching me from the corner of his eye, and that caused a question to bubble up in my throat. "Haninozuka-san, how exactly did you find me here?" I asked finishing off the first onigiri. My question seemed to perk Haninozuka up as he had started bouncing in his seat, smiling brightly at me. "Takashi saw you walking outside towards the maze while we headed to the cafeteria." He chirped happily, as he started bouncing his bunny on his lap.

I nodded my head a bit, picking up the second onigiri. "Ah." I said and started eating once more. I didn't know why my classmates stuck around while I ate. Haninozuka was chatting to Morinozuka and myself about the club, wondering what they were going to do that day, and what cakes they were going to have. By this time I had finished the onigiri and was folding the napkin in my lap.

"Neh, neh, Ryuu-kun, do you like cake?" Haninozuka asked me suddenly, his honey eyes looking at me curiously. I blinked a bit at the question and shrugged a bit. "It's nice once in a while I suppose." I mused. This seemed to make him quite happy as he jumped up from the bench. "Un! Cake is the best!" he declared happily. I saw a fleeting smile pass over Morinozuka's face before it went back to the stone stillness that it always was. 'Maybe there's still hope to make friends before graduation.' I mused, not realizing that Haninozuka and Morinozuka were leaving for the school once more that is until Morinozuka's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Ryuunosuke." He said, causing me to look up at him. "Is class starting already?" I asked him, causing him to nod. I stood up then, nodding. "Okay." I said and followed behind him and Haninozuka. Haninozuka had waited for Morinozuka and myself with a big smile on his face. "Takashi went back for Ryuu-kun neh?" he said and climbed onto the tall male's shoulders. The cousin nodded silently and we continued on our way. Morinozuka was about

When we got to the class, Haninozuka was in a good mood, but really when wasn't he in a good mood. The girls who saw us gave out squealed, and I think some of them fainted as well, but I really didn't feel like going over and checking. "Ryuu-kun is also popular with the girls here neh Takashi?" Haninozuka said brightly. I looked up at my small classmate with a raised eyebrow, hoping that he would elaborate for me.

Haninozuka just smiled as he continued talking. "Mhmm, Kyo-chan said that if Ryuu-kun came to the club, that would raise the clubs income by ten percent." He chirped, causing my frown. I didn't want to be used as a pawn just because the females were so dense as to not realize that they were being had.

Once we were seated in class, I concentrated on history, always finding it interesting. After all my plan when I graduated was to travel the world and discover ancient civilizations that no one had discovered before or go into archaeology . I didn't know why I was so fascinated with the past, but I was. Resting my head on my hand I started taking notes, feeling that the afternoon was going to drag on for a while. Currently we were learning about the feudal wars that took place against the emperor and those who rebelled against them. It was interesting to learn about it, and wondered what it would have been to live in that time era.

Soon we were in a discussion of whether it was alright for samurai's to give up their trade because of the change in the law. I never took part in these discussions, instead I just wrote my thoughts on it, beginning the essay, knowing that the teacher was going to assign us to do one anyways. I had always believed that it wasn't right for samurais to give up their sword since it was literally their way of living, and there was always a need for them in that day of age, especially since thieves and robbers were always around.

I think I got lost in my thoughts since the next thing I knew, Haninozuka was poking my arm slightly. "Neh, neh, Ryuu-kun, Ryuu-kun!" He said happily bouncing up and down slightly in front of me. I looked over at him blinking a bit and tilted my head to the side. "Hmm?" I asked him, waiting for him to continue. "Takashi and I were wondering if you want to be our partner." He said, causing me to raise an eyebrow and turn to the silent male beside me. "No essay?" I asked him, to which he nodded. "Ah." I took a guess that it meant yes.

Shrugging a bit, I nodded to Haninozuka-san, saying that I would. This got some whines from some of the girls, but also some 'kyas' from others. Haninozuka let out a cheer and told me that they would work on the project during lunch hour everyday to which I just nodded.

The rest of the classes went by slowly, having English and then math before school ended. Once it was over, I gathered my books, placing them into my bag before I stood up and walked out of the classroom. Haninozuka and Morinozuka had left moments before me, heading to the club room. I walked around a bit, meeting up with Haruhi, who told me that my sisters had gone home already, not that I was surprised or anything, they were lazy, and probably didn't want to get into any trouble, like they would have otherwise.

"Let's try someplace else Haru-chan Maybe we'll find a room that's not being used." I said closing the door to the fourth reading room, letting out a sigh. Haruhi nodded her head, running a hand through her hair as we started going up the stairs. "Hey, Makoto-sempai, why is it so noisy where?" she asked. I thought about this for a bit and shrugged a little. "I don't know Haru-chan, maybe it's because all these rich bastards have no time on their hands that lets them do everything that they want to do." I mused, never understanding it either.

We paused at a window, the two of us going into our thoughts. I guessed that she was thinking of her mother, that she lost when she was a child. For me, I was thinking about why my sisters and I never heard from our mother anymore. 'Mother, where are you? Why don't you want to talk to us or see us?' I thought sadly before looking over at Haruhi. I slung an arm around her shoulders, giving her a side hug.

"We'll be alright Haru-chan." I told her softly. She just sighed and nodded. "I know." She whispered, causing me to give her shoulder a squeeze. We continued on our way until we saw the third music room, somehow that sounded familiar to me, though I wasn't too sure from where. We couldn't hear anything coming from it and decided that it was the best place to try and study.


	3. Chapter 3

Grabbing the handle of the, I nodded over at Haruhi I then opened the door, and poked our heads in a bit only to be bombarded with roses, which sadly, I was allergic to. I covered my mouth with my hand as I started sneezing a bit. I was allergic to roses/ All I could hear, coming from the third music room were voices telling us welcome. As soon as my sneezing stopped I looked up, feeling myself pale. It was the Host Club, that's why the third music room sounded so familiar.

'Why... why didn't I realize it sooner.' I mentally moaned, rubbing my forehead with my hand. I looked over to Haruhi, and wasn't very surprised to see that she didn't know what to make of this. 'Poor girl looks like she's going to have a heart attack.' I thought sighing, ignoring the members of the club, who were wondering what two males were doing in their club. I looked at the club lazily, spotting my two classmates, and the students from the other classes. If I remembered correctly, from what Haninozuka-san had told me before. The one in the chair was called Suoh Tamaki, the one with the glasses was Ootori, Kyoya, and the red head twins were Hitachi Kaoru, and Hitachi Hikaru.

"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club, special students." Ootori-san said calmly. This was when the blonde in the chair stood up, his eyes and mouth wide, all his attention placed on Haruhi. I had a bad feeling about this and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder's causing her to jump a bit as she struggled to get the door open. At this time, Haninozuka and Morinozuka came over to me.

"Ryuu-kun, Ryuu-kun! Takashi and I are so happy you finally came!" he said bouncing up and down, small pink flowers popping up next to his face. "Ah, I forgot your club uses this room." I said, stuffing my hands into my pockets carelessly. I looked over at Haruhi then, and saw that she was being harassed by the blonde one. "So what exactly do you do here?" I asked curiously, just noticing that Haninozuka was missing. I looked over at Haruhi again, and noticed that she was getting stressed. I decided to go over to her and rubbed her shoulders a bit.

"I never thought that the special students were gay." Suoh-san mused, causing us to look at him like he was insane. Morinozuka was comforting Haninozuka, while the rest were just watching this unfold. I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair. A finger tapped me on my shoulder, causing my attention to be drawn over to the young Ootori.

"Yes Ootori-san, what can I do for you?"I asked, watching as the boy push his glasses up a smidge, causing a glare from the light to reflect, hiding his eyes. "Ryuunosuke-sempai, I would like to ask if you would join the Host Club, I find that you would be a great asset." He said, getting straight to the point. I casted a look sideways over Haruhi, seeing the vase right behind her and sighed. "You're only doing this because it will help Haru-chan feel better about being forced into this club as well to bring your ratings up neh?" I stated, watching Suoh-san step closer to the girls impending doom.

"Precisely Ryuunosuke-sempai. That and it would mean that Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai don't have to keep bothering you to come here." the younger boy added. Just at that moment, we all heard a crash, and I ran a hand through my hair. "Very well." I said, and walked over to Haruhi, missing a smirk pass over Ootori's lips.

I patted Haruhi's shoulder, feeling my shoulders sag just like hers were. "It's alright... I think..." I said quietly, ignoring the twins who were complaining. Ootori then picked up a piece of glass, and looked over at, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. Haruhi was scared out her wits and I couldn't help but wonder what I had gotten myself into when I agreed to this. 'But if it will be some sort of comfort... I suppose it will work...' I thought as Suoh-san told Haruhi that she was going to be the Clubs dog, along with myself, though, I was more for show apparently than anything.

I placed the palm of my hand against my forehead, and sighed deeply, I was handling this better than Haruhi was, but I suppose things like this just didn't faze anymore, not for a long time. I watched as Haninozuka poked Haruhi's shoulder as she had pretty much just fainted on the spot. I couldn't believe our luck. We were going to be treated poorer than dogs and slaves it was something that I just knew. We were told to get to the club early the next day, since that was when we would truly start repaying Haruhi's debt.

We were lucky since it was at near the end of the club, that we didn't actually need to do anything. After being told that our classmates were going to make sure we never skipped on our club duties, Haruhi and myself left the school , sighing deeply. On the walk home, we couldn't help but start to chuckle at what had happened. Feeling better about this whole ordeal now, I ran my hand through my hair, amused. "What were the odds that we would have been recruited into such a wacky club neh Haru-chan?" I asked teasingly over at her.

Sighing over at me, Haruhi, gave me a strained smile. "Apparently, it's more planned than anything Makoto-sempai." She said and shook her head. "Now I'll only be able to study at home, at best." She mumbled, making me nod in agreement. "I'm sure we'll be able to get some work done, after they're done giving us orders, I'm sure." But even as I said that, I knew it wasn't going to be true.

When we reached our apartment block, we left our separate ways. I couldn't wait until I could just go home and relax a little. Once inside, I couldn't help but sigh. My last year of school was going to be even more troublesome now. As I made my way to the kitchen, I wondered what would happen in this Host Club. I also wondered how long it would take them to realize that I was female, not a male. I started to make something to drink, and walked into the small living room, and laid down on the couch. Sipping my drink, I thought back on that day, reflecting on how Haninozuka and Morinozuka were always just there. I closed my eyes a bit, letting out a sigh as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Hmm, maybe this club won't be so bad." I mused to myself, then chuckled softly. "Well, anyway, I'm sure that something will turn out of this, eventually." With that I placed my cup on the table in front of me, deciding to take a short nap before I started with dinner.

When I awoke again, it was to my sisters coming in through the door. Sitting up now, I stretched my arms above my head, crossing my legs over one another. They were chatting with each other happily, both smiling, like there was nothing else that mattered in the world. They laughed at something and smiled over to me when they saw that I was up. I smiled back at them and waved them away, letting them know that I would make supper that night. I checked the clock, seeing that it was almost six-thirty and decided to get up. Taking my cup, I rinsed it out before setting it to the side for washing. I then looked in the fridge, trying to decide what to make. I knew that whatever it was, it would be lunch the next coming day. Deciding to do something simple and filling, I placed rice in our rice maker and started it, before getting the ingredients to make curry rice.

I stood over the stove making the rice as well as a side dish of chicken before setting the table and calling the girls for supper. We sat at the table and ate. I listened as they told me what they did that day after school. After they were done they asked me what happened in class, and I told them about being in the Host Club, with everyone thinking I was a guy. This caused my sisters to start laughing hysterically, and told me that they would come visit me to make things worse off for myself and Haruhi. I warned them that if they did that, I wouldn't be afraid to spill their darkest secrets to everyone at school.

We all had a good laugh at that as we finished our meal. The girls then took the dishes and started washing them as I put the leftover food away into the fridge to pack in the morning for lunch. We then went to our rooms to do some homework before we headed off to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days passed since were 'recruited' into the host club. I was sitting in class, it now nearing the end of the day and leaned back in my chair, starring out of the window. I had this habit at times, when I didn't know what to think, or when I just needed a small break of things. My sisters knew Haruhi and I were now 'apart' of the Host Club, and always went straight home after school to hang out with their friends from middle school. The bell soon rang and I started placing my books into my bag, wondering what chore I was going to be forced to do that day.

"Makoto, Makoto!" Haninozuka said, coming up to me along with his cousin. "Hai?" I asked, slinging my bag over my shoulder lazily. That day I was wearing an oversized sweater along with baggy pants. "Will you come and wait with me while Takashi goes to Kendo?" he asked, his honey eyes wide in hopefulness. I pondered on this, wait with Mitsukuni, or have Ootori give me unnecessary work. "Hai Mitsukuni, I will." I told him. He then beamed at me as he climbed onto Takashi's shoulders.

Yesterday, he had insisted that I called him Hunny and his cousin Mori, but I refused, saying that it was improper, so he then insisted that I called them by their first names, if I gave him permission to use mine. I agreed to it, and had been catching myself so I didn't call him by his last name in case I hurt his feelings.

Mitsukuni cheered happily and soon the three of us left the class room, Takashi, leading the way to the other club room. Mitsukuni was chatting away about some new cakes that he had gotten from Germany and Sweden. I chuckled softly and nodded as I listened to him gush about how good the cakes were. "Neh, Makoto." He said making me look up at him. "Hai Mitsukuni?"I asked curiously, tilting my head just slightly. "What kind of cakes do you like?" he asked me curiously. I blinked at the question, and tilted my head upwards to look at the ceiling.

"Hmm, I suppose I like chocolate cake, as well as chocolate and strawberries." I mused before shrugging. "I don't know, I like different types of cakes." I told him as I looked back at the cousins. Takashi-san was looking at me a bit, seeming to be thinking, and looked back in front of him, like nothing happened. Mitsukuni beamed at this and started going about cakes and sweets soon after. I nodded and smiled a bit, saying a few comments every now and then. I didn't realize we had reached the Kendo Club, until Takashi-san stopped walking, and Mitsukuni got off his shoulders. "Neh, have fun Takashi Makoto and I will stay right here until you're done okay?" Mitsukuni said smiling brightly. The taller cousin, looked at the smaller one, hesitantly. He looked over at me from the corner of his eye before nodding a bit. "Ah." He said before turning to me a bit.

I nodded to him. "Ah, I'll make sure he's safe." I told him, causing him to nod. He then turned and walked into the dojo for practice. Mitsukuni looked up at me with a smile on his face. "You can tell what Takashi was saying neh?" he chirped as I sat down against the wall. I shrugged a bit and looked up at the ceiling. "Ah, I suppose so. He had the same look as I do when anything concerns my sisters." I told him, and casually closed my eyes, feeling slightly drained. Sitting down beside me, Mitsukuni started bouncing his rabbit, Usa-chan on his lap.

"Makoto is very protective of his sister's neh?" he mused starring at his bunny. "Un, I am." I said softly then allowed my voice to drop a little. "Though we aren't related by blood, I still remember when I was brought home to become their protector..." I whispered, remembering the day well a small smile playing on my lips.

_It wasn't uncommon to see a little red brown haired, green eyed girl, being dragged away screaming out revenge to a little boy who was on the ground, crying from the beating that he had just received. This little girl was myself, I was very brutal and very violent. I had been at the orphanage since I could remember, which at the time, was forever. No one knew what happened to my real parents, one day, I had just shown up on the door step of the orphanage and had been a handful since then. Whenever one of the younger children were being bullied, I stood up for them, which usually got me into trouble._

_It was on this particular day that everything that I knew was going to change. I had just finished beating a boy, who always picked on the younger children just because they annoyed him. The caretaker was dragging me by the collar of my now ripped and mud stained blue shirt and pants. Today was the day where parents wanting a child to adopt came and went around to the children and see if they were what they wanted. Once inside the orphanage, I was taken to the back where the caretakers punished the children who misbehaved, I was well acquainted with this room, and wasn't surprised with I was harshly dropped onto the ground. I just sat up, watching the caretaker pace, an annoyed expression across her face._

"_You're lucky Makoto. The first set of parents are here already. Now go and change your clothes, and try to look nice." She said, emphasizing on the word nice, meaning that she wanted me to wear the dress that didn't exist in my closet, well it did, until I needed some bandages, and used that. I walked to the room I shared with three other girls, most of them were younger by a year or so, and were always picked on by the older boys. _

_Their names were Mira, Kira, and Azure. They were brought to the orphanage together, and had stuck close to each other like siblings. I found it amusing though, they all had the same black hair and the same hazel eyes that shone innocence in everything that they did. The three were in the room, huddled together, and as soon as they saw me, they ran over to me, hugging me tightly as they started crying. Wrapping my arms around the three of them, we went over to my bed, which they usually slept in at night, and pulled them onto my lap, rubbing their backs._

"_I'm alright see." I told them with a smile on my face. "The parents are arriving now, let me help you three get dressed." They looked up at me and started smiling, their tears disappearing now. Soon they were up and went over to our shared closet, and I picked out three dresses for them and changed them. Once that was done, I braided their hair into pigtails, tying them with ribbon. "There, now you three can find good homes. " I said with a soft laugh. They looked up at me, each smiling brightly and took my hands, pulling me to the door. "Come on Makoto! We want to see you get into a home too!" They said, causing me to smile at them. I let them lead me out into the main area where Kira went over to the bookshelf and the other two brought me to the couch, sitting on either side of me. Mira was the oldest, then came Azure, and then Kira. _

_Once Kira came back, she sat on my lap while holding out the book. I smiled at them and started reading the story Kira picked out. They weren't concerned over being picked by a parent. "Mako-nee-chan! We don't need parents! As long as we have you, we're a family!" Kira chirped, snuggling into my chest. I laughed and gave the three girls a hug. "Un! We'll always be a family." I said smiling brightly._

_It was then that a couple, and a man, starring at us in approval, watching as I read to the three girls, who were soon starting to fall asleep on me. One pair came up to me; the man was smiling brightly, and looked ready to just pounce with joy. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. The woman was much calmer looking and nodded with a smile on her lips. She had light blonde hair and deep blue eyes. _

"_Ah, you're really good with little girls hmm?" she said kneeling in front of me with her husband. I just nodded my head, a frown etched onto my face. "We saw what you did for these three, you are very brave." She added, once again, I just nodded, this was when the man came over, seeing how things were going, he had a mix of brown and blonde hair and sky blue eyes. "Here, let me explain. This couple, can't have any children, and have wanted three little girls. My wife and I want to have an older sibling for our two little girls." He said. My eyes widen a bit as I blinked at him. "So you want to adopt, these three and myself?" I asked, never thinking a day like this would happen. Nodding the man smiled at me. "Yup." he said and held out his hand to me. I reached out, taking his hand and smiled back at him._

"_Hai, Otou-san." I said. He smiled brightly at me, and gently moved Kira off my lap to join her sister. "Now, that we've agreed on this, what is your name?" he asked. "Makoto." I answered. He nodded and smiled. "Even better, you're going to become a serenity dragon." He said. "My name is Ryuunosuke, Daichi." He said and picked me up. "Wait, I want to tell them that I'll see them later." I told him, wiggling out of his grasp. I knew I wouldn't be able to see them again, it was just a feeling that I had. Seeing that they were away, they ran over to me, hugging me tightly. "I'll see you again, Kira-chan, Mira-chan, Azure-chan." I said with a smile. They started sniffling, crying into my chest. "I promise." I whispered to them._

_After the goodbyes, and the signing of papers, Daichi-Otou-san took me home. When he opened the door, with me behind his legs, he was greeted by two little girls that were the same age as Kira, Mira, and Azure. The woman standing behind them smiled warmly at her husband. With brown hair and deep blue eyes, I wondered who this family would accept me. "Taka-chan, Yuzu-chan, I want you to meet your new big sister. This is Makoto-chan." He said, brining me from behind his legs._

_I stood in front of them hesitantly, and waved a little. "Uhm... Hi..." I said weekly. I noticed that Daichi-Otou-san's wife look at him in disappointment, almost as if she rather have a male than me._

Mitsukuni looked up at me and smiled brightly. "Un, I can tell. They seem like nice girls." He mused looking up at the ceiling now. I thought for it a bit and nodded slightly. "Hmm, I might, would be interesting to see what they would do." I said looking up at the ceiling as well before looking outside. 'It would be a nice day to go for a walk.' I thought. Mitsukuni nodded eagerly at the idea and went back to his bunny.

I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. We spent the next while just talking about random things, well, mainly Mitsukuni did the talking. Soon though, I noticed that his eyes started to droop. "Are you tired Mitsukuni?" I asked looking over at him with a tilted head. He just nodded as he rubbed his eyes a bit. I chuckled a bit and patted my lap. "Here, you can nap on my lap while we wait for Takashi-san." I told him, he stared at me in surprise before nodding sleepily and moved around so he could lay his head on my lap. Once he did though, he quickly fell asleep, holding onto his bunny tightly.

I chuckled inwardly, watching the older boy sleep. 'He's lucky he's able to fall asleep so easily.' I thought and went back to starring up at the ceiling. I could hear the sound of the shikai hitting against one another. I closed my eyes, listening to them practice, wondering what Haruhi was up to at the moment. I caught myself yawning a bit as I covered my mouth. I carefully stretched out my legs, as to not disturb Mitsukuni. I stretched out my back as well as my arms, as I started wondering if the Kendo club was only for males only.

I must have dozed off a bit, since when I opened my eyes next, I was blinking up at Takashi-san, who was looking at Mitsukuni a bit. I looked down and saw the smaller boy curled up in my lap. I titled my head a bit in surprise, and let a smile flicker over my lips a bit. "Gomen-nasai Takashi-san, I must have dozed off while we were waiting." I said quietly apologetically, running a hand through my hair.

Shaking his head a bit, he picked Mitsukuni up from my lap, causing him to stir a bit. "Ah, it's alright." He said as we watched Mitsukuni start rubbing his eyes. I stood up, picking up the fallen bunny off the ground and smiled at the smaller boy. "You dropped this Mitsukuni." I said softly, handing it to him. "Arigato Makoto." He said with a smile before laying his head on Takashi-san's back. "Is Kendo all done Takashi?" He asked his cousin, who in turn nodded his head. "Then let's get to the Host Club." He said with a smile before yawning loudly, and falling into a light sleep again.

Chuckling softly at him, I nodded at Takashi, who nodded back and the two of us walked in silence towards the Host Club. When we reached the doors, Mitsukuni was waking up again as we walked through the doors. "Gomen! I'm late." He said while rubbing his eyes. The two cousin's customers looked over at them happily, saying that they were waiting for the two of them. "Gomen, I fell asleep while waiting for Takashi-kun at the Kendo Club with Makoto-kun." He explained while Takashi placed him down. I nodded my head a bit and handed Mitsukuni his bunny.

"Don't forget him now Mitsukuni." I said softly as I bid the two cousins farewell as I went over to Haruhi, who looked confused. "Is he really a senior?" I heard her asked while I stretched my arms out again. "Hai he is, we're in the same class." I mused leaning against the column beside her. "Don't look at his appearance, Honey-sempai is a brilliant student and Mori-sempai's selling point is his taciturnity." Kyoya said, coming up to us. "Un, but it's not just that." I mused, seeing him look over at me. "Hai Ryuu-sempai, that is correct." He said then looked at his notebook. "Which reminds me, there is a uniform for you in the change room, if you don't mind going in and making sure it fitted." He said, his eyes hidden by the glare of his glasses.


	5. Chapter 5

Rolling my eyes a bit, I let out a sigh, waving a bit to Haruhi as I went to the change rooms. I thought I heard something about forgetting something in the change rooms to someone. I looked at the uniform in front of me and shrugged off my thick sweater, folding it up nicely onto the stool. Grabbing the shirt, I unbuttoned it and looked myself in the mirror. The camisole I wore underneath my sweaters and shirts was one of the few feminine things that I had owned. The pants I was wearing that day were black jeans which were slightly ripped at the knees. I ran a hand through my hair a bit, slipping on the crisp white shirt of the uniform. I was actually surprised that it fit me perfectly, but then thought back on who most likely ordered it and sighed. Buttoning up the buttons on the shirt, I left the first two undone to give me some room to breathe. I changed into the pants next and tied up the tie, leaving it a tad loose. I didn't like things around my neck unless it was a necklace.

I heard the door to the change room open and peaked out as soon as I grabbed my clothes and jacket. What I saw, kind of amused me. Haruhi was being dragged by the twins, and given a uniform. I shook my head a bit, as they went into the changing area with her, only to be kicked out. They blinked at each other then looked over at me, and I knew what they had figured out.

"So her secret is coming out then." I mused with a smirk, placing a hand on my hip. They nodded slowly, blinking once more at each other, and smirked at each other, coming over to me. They wrapped their arms around my shoulders, looking at the clothes I held in my arms. "It's not like you're doing much to hide your secret either Ryuu-sempai." They chorused in unison. I looked down at my shirt and shrugged, I forgot that I had been wearing a dark coloured camisole that day.

"I never had an intention to not hide it." I mused, placing my clothes into my bag. I then put the blazer on, buttoning it up a bit. "But don't you two tell anyone yet, I want to see how long this goes on for." I told them, winking at the playfully. They grinned at me, letting go of my shoulders and stepped back a bit looking at me. "Neh, Ryuu-sempai can be quite devious hm Hikaru." Kaoru said still grinning. Hikaru looked over at his younger twin, grinning still as well. "Un, she is, I think Ryuu-sempai will bring much fun to this club." He said. It was then that Takashi came into the change room holding a case for contact lenses. He looked over at me, and nodded a bit, placing them into my hand. I nodded back at him and walked over to the curtains, where Haruhi was.

"It's just me Haruhi." I called in before walking into the change room. Haruhi looked over at me when I came in and sighed a bit. "They're really doing a lot aren't they?" she mumbled, turning to look in the mirror. I chuckled a bit and nodded, handing her the contacts. "Yes, they are. But it's a bonus that they like you." I told her and leaned against the wall. She rolled her eyes at me and fixed the collar of her shirt and blazer. "They like you as well Makoto." She said with a shrug and popped the contacts in, blinking a bit to get use to them.

I shrugged at that and heard commotion from outside of the change rooms. "Looks like they're waiting for us." I mused looking over at her as she sighed. I opened the curtain for her and smirked a bit as Haruhi walked out, straightening her tie. Once she was out, I walked out after her, heading to the side a bit, so I was out of the way. I knew that most of the club was for Haruhi to be there, I was just an extra to make sure Haruhi felt comfortable.

Tamaki started gushing, saying how she looked liked a girl. I bit back a snort, and the urge to say, 'isn't that because she is one...' Kyoya nodded in approval, casting a glance over at me. I just nodded at him, having a feeling that he had a surprise for the blonde and brunette. Mitsukuni then came over to me with a skip in step and grabbed onto my arm, spinning us around. "Makoto looks really good in his uniform neh Takashi?" he said once we stopped spinning. I had to carefully blink so I wouldn't get too dizzy. Apparently Takashi noticed this and placed a hand on my shoulder to help steady me.

"Mitsukuni, don't spin recklessly." He said before nodding to his cousin's question. "Arigato Takashi-san, I'm fine now." I told him softly, feeling my head stop spinning. Mitsukuni pouted a bit and nodded before holding his bunny up to me. "Here Makoto, hold Usa-chan. Gomen." He said, causing me to chuckle a bit and ruffle his hair. "It's alright Mitsukuni." I told him and shook his head. "I'm sure Usa-chan would rather eat cake with you then go around with me." I told him, patting the pink bunny's head.

"From this day forward, you two have been upgraded from trivial chores, and are now official members of the Host Club." Tamaki said, point to Haruhi and I. We blinked in surprise and looked at one another, with blank looks upon our faces. 'Is he for real?' I thought, running a hand through my hair. "If the both of you gather 100 customers, then the eight million debt will be repaid." He said, and I felt my shoulder slouch a bit. I looked over at Haruhi from the corner of my eye and sighed a bit. 'But I guess that's better than letting her do it by herself.' I mused, and rolled my shoulders a bit.

When the eight of us go out of the change room, Tamaki made an announcement telling the girls that Haruhi and I were now hosts. This seemed to go over well with the girls, since almost immediately, they started booking us. I was seated near a window with three girls, two were second years, and the other was a first year.

"Ryuu-kun, why did you decide to join the Host Club?" One of the second years, I believe she said her name was Misa. The other girls nodded their heads, wanting to know as well, and leaned in closer a bit, causing me to chuckle. I looked over at Haruhi, seeing that she looked ready to throw in the towel and looked back at the girls.

"I wanted to help Haruhi. We've been friends for a few years already, and I thought it would only be fair. Besides I don't know what kind of trouble he could get into here." I told them. They looked at me with glittering eyes, seeing the soft smile upon my lips. "Is Haru-kun family to you?" they asked quietly, causing me to nod. "He's like another younger sibling to me. I'll do anything to protect them." I told them softly. After a few minutes of silence, they squealed, startling me a bit. "He's so compassionate and protective!"

I rubbed the back of my head, feeling a tad nervous about that. 'Are these girls really that... blind...' I thought, feeling myself gulp a bit. It was then that I heard Haruhi's muffled cries for help, making me stand up from my chair. "Excuse me." I told them, heading over to her and Tamaki, who was spinning her and suffocating her. Before I could rescue the poor girl, Takashi got there first, lifting her out of Tamaki's arms, and into the air. This was when I saw a look of surprise in his eyes, and knew he knew Haruhi's secret as well.

It was then that I heard the doors to the club slam open, and two sobs come from two familiar sounding girls. "Makoto-nee-san!" my sisters wailed, causing everyone in the club room to pause what they were doing. I turned around only to have my sister's heads buried into my chest as they sobbed loudly. I gently lowered the three of us onto the floor, and stroked their heads.

"Taka-chan, Yuzu-chan... what's wrong?" I cooed to them quietly. I knew from experience, that it wasn't often that these two cried like this, or got so frightened that they came running to me. Takara was the first to speak up, her sobs a little calmer than her sister's. "S-someone c-came up to us... asking us if we... we were related to Otou-san... saying that t-they wanted to ch-challenge us to a-a Kendo match!" she started wailing again. I frowned at this, my sisters didn't know anything about Kendo, or about our Otou-san doing Kendo. Only I did. "W-When we said we didn't know anything... He... he pushed us to the ground, pulling out that bamboo sword." Yuzuki started. "He then threatened that if... no one accepted his challenge... that he... that he would..." she cut herself off with another sob.

"Taka-chan, Yuzu-chan, take me to this person." I told them quietly. If there was something I had to hate in this world. It was when people threatened my family for something that they didn't do. They clung to me as we stood up. I turned to the Host Club members, looking at them each in the eye. "If you will excuse me, my family needs me." I told them and let my sisters cling to me as we walked out of the room. A hand stopped us for a bit, and I turned around, seeing Takashi and Mitsukuni there.

"We'll come with Makoto too." Mitsukuni said, his voice, lost most of its sweetness, and his eyes were hard. Takashi nodded as well, his eyes and face grim. "The Kendo Club will deal with this person." He said. I shook my head a bit and looked out into the hallway. "Thank you, Takashi-san, Mitsukuni, but this is a family matter. You may deal with him as soon as I am done the match." I told them, and with that, my sisters started walking, their grips tightening. I heard the footsteps of Takashi, not surprised that he would follow. After all, this was someone from the club he was in.

Once we reached the Kendo club, I gently pried my sisters from my sides and turned to Takashi. "If you don't mind, but I will need a Hakama, some armour and a Shinai." I said to him, causing him to nod. He led me into the club room, where we both bowed in. I looked to the side, feeling my sister's clamp onto me once more. At the other end of the dojo, was a male, from what I could tell, he was grinning. "So the Ryuunosuke's brought their Oniisan hmm? Well it won't make much difference." He mocked with a chuckle then pointed his Shinai at me. "Get ready." He stated. I smirked at this and nodded.

"With pleasure." I told him, letting Takashi lead me to the change rooms where he handed me a Hakama, some armour and showed me where the Shinai was so I could pick out one that fit me. I nodded my head and walked further into the change room, sliding a door behind me for some privacy. I knew that Takashi would most likely judge the match, to make sure it was fair, and I could feel his dark eyes linger on where I was, most likely in confusion. Once I was dressed, I did some stretching, sliding the door open with the armour in my hands. I picked a Shinai out, that fitted me, and swung it around, getting the feel of it, once I was satisfied, I went back out into the dojo, bowing in, and sat on my knees, putting my armour on.

Now, I suppose there's something I should let you know. Before Otou-san and Okaa-san got a divorce, Otou-san had been taking Kendo classes from one of his old friends, I forgot who they were though. I had tagged along quite a bit, also learning Kendo, and was usually paired up with Otou-san's friend's son. But one of the other students in the dojo, didn't like having kids at the lesson, and decided to strike a deal with my father. If my father could beat him, then I could stay in the class, but if he couldn't then I could never come back again. Needless to say, Otou-san beat the guy fairly.

After a put the armour on, I stood up, jumping slightly to warm up. I noticed that Takashi was dressed in his Hakama as, holding his Shinai at his side. Yuzuki, and Takara were sitting side by side next to Mitsukuni who was watching everyone. After I was done stretching, I walked over to the middle of the dojo with my opponent and Takashi. I then noticed a smaller version of Takashi, just coming in and sitting down next to Mitsukuni.

"Fair fight, first to have ten hits wins." Takashi's deep voice sounded and I smirked. "Hai." My opponent and I said. Takashi made a movement for us to come closer to each other so we could begin. Once we at the right distance, we drew our shinai's and squatted, our shinai's touching before we stood up again. Takashi nodded at the both of us and stood back, letting us start.

Before either one of us moved, my opponent spoke to me quietly, so no one else would hear. "If I win, you take your sisters and leave Ouran." He told me, causing me to smirk. "And if I win, you leave me and my sisters alone, as well as quit the Kendo Club." I told him, then made my move, knocking his Shinai away and hitting his head. I then moved back, my guard on high alert as I watched my opponent.

He came charging at me, trying to hit my side, but I blocked him before hitting his side, calling out my second hit. "Come on now, focus. You're becoming blind." I scolded him. He didn't take to kindly to this and tried hitting my wrist, only to have me side step him, hitting him on the head once more.

I started backing up a bit to put some distance between him and I. To be honest I was surprised with myself. It had been almost five years since I had done any Kendo, let alone practiced it. I was sure some people were surprised of how well I was doing with this match, but Kendo was one of the few secrets that I had, and now that it was out in the open, I had a feeling things would start to get more interesting.

I looked around at my opponent, and frowned when I couldn't see him. I slowly started to circle, to see if I could find him soon. It was only when Mitsukuni yelled in worry that my opponent was behind me, getting ready to strike, did I let myself go with my instinct. I don't know how it happened, but I was soon standing over my opponent, my Shinai at his throat, while his sword flew a few feet in the air, and I caught it in my left hand before it landed on the ground.

"That was a dirty trick you pulled." I said calmly, my voice holding no emotion in it as I casted a look over to Takashi, wanting his verdict on what had happened. "Makoto wins by default." He said, crossing his arms over his chest, I saw a small smile cross his lips as I backed away from my opponent.

I heard some cheers and felt three bodies glomp me , causing all of to start spinning which got me laugh. "Hey come on now, this armour is heavy, you're going to make me fall." I whined with a laugh. "Makoto's really good!" I heard Mitsukuni gush. He was hanging off of my waist, while my sisters were on my arms. "Mako-nee-chan is awesome! We didn't know you could do that!" my sisters said in unison. I soon felt my balance falter and I felt myself yelp as I went down backwards. Before I knew it, I was caught in a pair of strong arms, my head hitting solid chest. It didn't take long for my face to turn red, already knowing who I fell into.

"Arigato Takashi-san." I said meekly, my sisters and Mitsukuni still clinging onto me. "Takashi was real quick to catch Makoto neh?" the smaller cousin said. "Ah." I heard the taller one say. "Time to get off. Makoto needs to change." He said, causing the three attached to me, whine.


	6. Chapter 6

I bowed out of the dojo into the change room and went to the area where I had changed before. I took the armour off, with a bit of a grunt, forgetting the weight of it. Once the armour was off, I sat on my knees, groaning a bit. I took the Hakama off, which left me in my underwear and began folding it up, not really thinking that anyone would come in for anything. Sadly, I wished at that time, I was more cautious about my actions... The sliding door opened, causing me to look up, only to be greeted by Takashi, who was holding a water bottle in his hand. We blinked at each other for a few minutes, and then the screen door shut fully. I turned around, and got dressed quickly, my cheeks aflame as I folded the Hakama. I then heard a knock before the screen opened again.

"Makoto was really good out there. Did Makoto take Kendo lessons?" It was Mitsukuni. I turned to him, not meeting his eyes as I finished folding the material. "Ah... yes, I did. My Otou-san took lessons and brought me along with him, so I ended up learning as well." I said softly. Once everything was folded, I walked out with Mitsukuni, and put the Shinai away as well as the armour. I went over to the basket, placing the uniform in it and walked out, listening to Mitsukuni continue to ask questions about when I took Kendo. I answered his questions, starting to feel uncomfortable as we walked back into the dojo. I bowed, out of respect and had my sisters reattach themselves to my side, almost knocking Mitsukuni down, if I didn't place him on my shoulders. I was surprised though, for someone my age, and who ate a lot of sweets, he was sure light.

I patted my sister's heads with a smile. "See, now everything's alright. No need to worry about him anymore neh?" I said. They nodded happily and gave me a hug once more before heading off. "Thank you Mako-nee!" they called in unison, waving to me before they left. With that I let out a sigh. "Makoto's sister's seem really nice." Mitsukuni said from a top of my head. I nodded, smirking a little. "Though a little ditzy, I can't say I could ask for better sisters." I told him, before letting him off my shoulders.

Mitsukuni just smiled happily at me and went over to Takashi, who I noticed was talking to the mini Takashi. I looked around the dojo, smiling a bit to myself, unaware of anything around me at the moment. It had been a while since I had an adrenalin rush like that. 'But I suppose with sisters like the ones that I have, it's to be expected.' I thought. I heard movement behind me, and the swish of a Shinai. From my guess, it was my opponent who lost.

"I will not lose to a pretty boy like you!" the male shouted right as I started turning towards him. I had to blink is surprise at how close he was, and couldn't help but gasp a bit, holding my arms up to take the blow. But it never came as wood crashed upon wood, causing the opponents sword to fly off, landing behind me. I looked from the Shinai to the one who saved me. Takashi was standing in front of me. The boy who attacked me, fell down in fear, and started stuttering.

"M-Morino-nozuka-sem-sempai..." he stuttered. I just stood there watching what was happening as the mini Takashi and Mitsukuni came running over to us. Mitsukuni grabbed onto my front, hugging me tightly, and I just patted his head. "I'm alright Mitsukuni, Takashi saved me before any damage was done." I whispered to the boy, rubbing his back. "But Makoto could have been seriously hurt!" he cried into my stomach, causing a small smile to appear on my lips.

I couldn't help but shiver a bit, only being able to imagine what the look on my tall classmate's face was. "Get out. You are no longer welcomed here in the Kendo Club." Takashi said sternly. I noticed the mini Takashi standing off to the side, beaming up at his brother. "Taka is awesome!" he said, his voice full of admiration. I smiled softly at that as I picked Mitsukuni up, placing him on my shoulders, letting him burry his head into my hair. The mini Takashi then turned to me, rubbing the back of his head, sheepishly. "I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Morinozuka Satoshi." He said with a smile as he stuck out his hand.

I chuckled softly, and shook his hand, giving him a smile. "It's nice to meet you Morinozuka-kun. I'm Ryuunosuke Makoto. Arigato for letting me use to dojo." I said with a slight bow, as to not disturb Mitsukuni, who was sleeping on my back. He shook his head feverously, the smile still on his face. "No, no, no Ryuunosuke-sempai, it was a pleasure!" he said. "You're form was amazing, the same as your tactics! It was an honour to watch you teach someone a lesson for your family!" he said passionately, his hands now in fists. A hand soon found its way onto Satoshi's head, causing him to look up with a bright smile on his face.

"Taka!" his brother said with a smile. "It's your turn to deal with him Satoshi." Takashi said with a nod. Satoshi nodded back and went over to the frightened kid. Takashi looked at me for a bit, not saying anything. I looked up at him, and bowed a bit, keeping my head low. "Thank you Takashi." I said quietly. When I was standing straight, I felt a hand on my head, ruffling my hair a bit. I looked up at him with a slight pout on my face, but couldn't help but stare at wonder at the smile on his face.

Soon we had to go, and said our goodbyes to Satoshi, after he made me promise to come back for Kendo practice. As Takashi and I walked in silence through the halls back up to the Host Club, I started to wonder what would happen now. The only one left that didn't know my true gender was Tamaki.

"Makoto." I stopped in my steps and looked over at Takashi, who had stopped as well, and was currently looking out of the window we were next to. "Yes Takashi?" I asked softly, wondering what was on his mind. He didn't say anything for a few minutes then handed me the water bottle he had in his hands before. "Gomen. I should have knocked." He said, and I noticed a barely noticeable blush on his cheeks. I felt my face grow warm and took the water bottle. "It's alright Takashi, I should have dressed before I folding the Hakama." I said softly. All he did was nod and we continued our way in silence once more.

When we got to the club room, Mitsukuni was starting to wake up, so I handed him to Takashi. I saw that the red head that was usually with Tamaki sitting across from Haruhi, with a look in her eyes that I knew meant trouble, so I started walking over to them. It seemed everything happened all at once, the girl pulled Haruhi forwards, causing the table and chairs to flip. When I had gotten there, I had managed to catch the girl, causing her the land on top of me with Haruhi on top of her.

"H..Haruhi-kun suddenly got violent... the same with Ryuu-sempai..." the girl faked wailed. Haruhi and I looked at her confused, then looked at one another. "Makoto?" she asked unsure. I just shook my head, not able to answer her since I didn't know how it happened either. Suddenly we were all doused with water, causing Haruhi and I to look up at the twins who were looking down at us. Tamaki then came over, helping the girl up, while I Haruhi, sat back on her knees and I sat up crossing my legs.

"Haruhi isn't that kind of guy, neither is Ryuu-sempai." Tamaki said as he wiped hair from the girl's face. "You are very beautiful, but you are unfit for this club." He told her softly. That didn't go over too well for her as she pushed him away and ran out of the club.

Tamaki sighed then, and rocked a bit on his heels and looked over at Kyoya who pushed his glasses up. "With the ruckus you two displayed, I'm afraid I will have to increase your debt Haruhi. As for you Ryuu-sempai, you're debt has started." He said causing me to shrug. "I figured as much. Do you have an extra uniform for us or some dry clothes?" I asked with a sigh. He nodded and I felt Mitsukuni come over to me worried. "Makoto! Are you okay? Was that mean girl heavy?" he asked as I picked myself up. I chuckled and shook my head with a smile.

"I'm fine Mitsukuni. She wasn't that heavy." I told him, ruffling his hair. Takashi stood behind Mitsukuni and nodded to me, causing me to nod back. "Everything is fine you two. Don't worry." I told them with a smile. Kyoya soon came back with two bags. "Sorry we only have one uniform." He said, handing the bag with the uniform to Haruhi then handed me the other one. "But I did find these, they should fit Ryuu-sempai." He said causing Haruhi and I nod. "Thanks." We said and both let out a sigh and walked back into the change rooms.

As I took my wet uniform off, I looked into the bag and quirked and eyebrow with what I was given. I just shrugged and changed into the dark grey off the shoulder shirt and the long flowing brown skirt that ended at my calf. I ran a hand through my hair, surprised at how it looked on me, I then slipped on the black flats that came with the bag. My ever present dragon pendant that my Otou-san gave me hung around my neck and I walked out of the change room. Before seeing how Haruhi was, I saw Tamaki step backwards from where Haruhi was changing, with a surprised look on his face, the same one I saw Takashi wear.

"H-Haruhi... you're a girl?" he asked before casting his eyes towards me as well. With that, he jumped into the air with a yelp. "You too Ryuu-sempai!" he yelled causing me to tilt my head a bit. "Biologically yes, we're both females." I told him calmly. This didn't seem to help him calm down or anything, so I just decided to leave him alone with his thoughts.

Soon the rest of the hosts joined us, and as soon as Mitsukuni saw me, he jumped at me, hugging me around the middle. "Makoto looks so pretty! Neh Takashi?" he said, the silent cousin just nodded in agreement. "Ah." He said. The twins then came over and wrapped their arms around my neck. "We knew this would look good on you..." The one on my left said. "But we never thought it would look this good!" the other on my side finished. "You can keep it Ryuu-sempai!" they said in unison.

I chuckled and nodded, patting their heads. "Thanks Hikaru, Kaoru." I said causing them to grin. Haruhi soon pushed the side of the change room away, revealing her in the light yellow dress that all of the female students wore. I stood off to the side, my arms crossed over my chest as Tamaki's head turned bright red and took a step backwards. I smirked to myself as I leaned against the wall near Kyoya, incidentally.

"Maybe this is a kind of start towards love?" Kyoya mused, causing me to smirk. "Who knows, might be good for them both." I said tilting my head a bit to the side. This caused a smirk to be placed on his lips. "You think so?" he asked raising an eyebrow, causing me to smirk. "Oh yes, they're naturally polar opposites, that's why they work well together." I told him and patted his head. "But since Club activities are finished, I'm going to head home." I said and walked over to my wet uniform that I put into the bag and walked over to my bag that I left by my table. Picking it up, I slung it over my shoulder, and turned to Haruhi. "Neh, Haru-chan, come on, you're coming over for dinner tonight, you promised Yuzu-chan and Taka-chan." I told her, causing the girl to nod. "Right, just hang on a bit okay?" she said grabbing her stuff then caught up to me. We waved to the Club and left the room, heading home.

"Neh Makoto, do you think that being in this club will be alright for us?" Haruhi asked as we walked down the street. I thought for a moment, a smile coming onto my lips. "Hai, I think this club is exactly what we need." I said softly and smiled at the girl. She smiled back at me and nodded. "If you say so Makoto." She said with a laugh, causing me to laugh as well. We soon reached my apartment and the two of us were greeted by the smell of burning pasta. Looking at each other, we both rolled our eyes and headed to the kitchen.

"Alright you two, out o the kitchen, the cooks are finally here." I said, placing my hands on my hips. My sisters cheered and left the kitchen in praise. "Thank goodness you're back Mako-nee-chan! We're starving!" they whined. "Just go set the table, we'll get supper ready." I told them, then I started to laugh, which got my sisters laughing, and finally Haruhi joined in with us.


	7. Chapter 7

A week passed since everyone found out Haruhi and I were females. I was enjoying my time listening to the girls talk, and was now somewhat use to them screaming, and at the odd time fainting at me. In that week, I had also joined Kendo, so every so often I would be late for club activities, with Takashi and Mitsukuni, who insisted on waiting for us. Currently, I was running to the third music room, since I was late from practicing some Kendo on my own. I had found my old Shinai and was given a new Hakama and armour when I joined, so I didn't need to worry about those. I soon met up with Haruhi, who looked as tired as I was.

"Studying again?" I asked, adjusting the strap of my carrying bag for my Shinai. Even though I was told that I could leave it there, I refused. Haruhi nodded as we made our way down the hall. "Yes, I got caught up again. Were you practicing Kendo again?" she asked giving me a knowing look. I nodded my head with a lop sided smile. "I can't help but practice, I haven't been able to practice it for a while." I told her. She nodded her head and we both let out a sigh as we came to the Host club. Once we opened the door, we were greeted by our fellow hosts.

I couldn't help but let bit of a whistle, as I gazed around the transformed club room. It was now a tropical paradise, with birds and monkeys. I felt one climb into my arms and I stood there with Haruhi petting it a bit as Haruhi brought out her calendar.

"Awe, it's just Haruhi and Ryuu-Sempai." The twins said with a sigh. "You're both late." Kyoya said pushing his glasses up. "Ah, gomen, I got caught up in practice." I said with a sheepish smile. Mitsukuni hopped over to me, grabbing one of my arms, and pulled me to the change room. "Neh, neh Makoto, Tama-chan and Kyo-chan got costumes for everyone!" he said happily. I noticed Takashi was following us behind and I chuckled softly. "Ah, really? I hope he remembered that Haru-chan and I are pretending to be males here." I mused as I looked at the left over costumes. I looked at the one that had my name on it and tilted my head a bit.

It looked like a males costume, but instead of being topless, I had a slightly baggy white shirt that pinched at my waist and was covered by a pair of long red pants with two gold belts hanging over my hips. Once I was changed, Mitsukuni handed me a red bandana, in which I tied around my head, leaving some bangs to hand in front of my eyes.

I turned around a bit, humming slightly. "I guess this will suffice." I mused, stretching my arms above my head. I was then dragged out of the change rooms, and proceeded to explore to the table that I was usually at. But since I had no customers for a while, I proceeded to walk around with Haruhi, who was still in her uniform, collecting glasses and plates.

It was when I was around Tamaki's table, I heard him speak about a dance party, which caught my curiosity. Some of the girls apparently didn't know what it was and asked their hosts. The closest ones to me were the twins, causing me to stop what I was doing and listen in.

"We book the entire central hall of the Central Building..." Hikaru started out, letting Kaoru finish. "...and it'll just be the most fantastic thing ever." They then went into their twincest and I went back to work. Heading behind the drink area, I started mixing up some drinks that were requested, listening to Kyoya and Haruhi speak. He said that he wasn't in charge of making the decisions of what we did in the club, that was Tamaki's thing, but he could influence the guy. I just smirked at this and shook my head, bringing up the new orders for Haruhi, whose eye started to twitch.

She walked away with the new tray and I started washing my hands clean. "You seem quite comfortable behind a bar Ryuu-sempai." Kyoya stated, once Haruhi was gone. I chuckled a bit and nodded. "Un. It's something I've had an interest of doing for a while." I told the second year as I stretched out once more. "It's what I'm going to go to school for besides psychology once I've graduated." He wrote what I said down, and hummed a little at that. "An interesting goal sempai." He mused before closing his notebook and started walking away. "You have customers at Mori-sempai and Hunny-sempai's table." He added.

I shook my head at the boy and made my way over to the two cousins. When I arrived, my regular customers, so far greeted me with big smiles. "Ryuu-sempai! There you are, we couldn't find you at your table, then Honey-sempai said that we could come with him and wait for you here." Misa said. I gave them an apology smile and nodded. "I'm sorry, I was helping Haruhi with picking up the drinks. I didn't mean to make you girls wait so long." I said, with a frown on my face. Their faces soon lit up as they shook their heads. "No, no, no, it's alright Ryuu-sempai." They said, causing me to nod and smile a bit. "Alright then." I said softly.

I then noticed out of the corner of my eye, Mitsukuni climbing up Takashi's chest, placing a necklace of flowers around his neck. Their customers squealed at the two, and I couldn't help but chuckle softly. I noticed that my customers were watching the cousins as well, and that they were enjoying their time with one another. "Makoto!" I heard Mitsukuni say happily, as I caught him. He had propelled himself from Takashi, and was heading straight towards me. I easily caught him, and shook my head. "Mitsukuni, you should be more careful. What if I wasn't paying attention? We both could have been hurt." I said in a gentle tone. He looked down, and hugged me tightly. "Gomen Makoto." He said, before brightening up. He made his way onto my back, and I felt him place something around my neck. When I looked down, it was another one of the flower necklaces.

"See, now Takashi, Makoto and I match!" he chirped as Takashi came over to us. The girls let out a few squeals and I noticed that one of each of our customers fainted on sight. I shook my head a bit as Mitsukuni went back to Takashi's back. Soon the next shift came, and I was actually relieved that I didn't have anyone else that day. I walked behind the juice bar and started making some drinks for the other customers, all the while, thinking about the slight difference everyone in the club was acting. I looked over at Haruhi's table, seeing her with her customer then at the other tables. The only other one who wasn't hosting was Kyoya, which didn't surprise me in the least.

"Back again Ryuu-sempai?" I heard the second year ask as he came up towards the bar. I nodded my head as I passed him a drink, having a feeling that he was thirsty. "Un, as we talked about earlier, I feel more comfortable behind here than on my own." I said softly as I started cleaning some of the dirty glasses up. We were silent for a bit as I cleaned up the bar and Kyoya wrote in his notebook. "Some of the customers have asked where the drinks they have been served were coming from." He said, causing me to look up with raised eyebrow, asking him to continue. "I told them that you were making the drinks for the day. They give you their regards and compliments, saying that they will request you tomorrow." He said dotting something on his paper. I hummed a bit at this as I leaned against the bar.

"So I just gave you more money then." I said dryly while I washed my hands. He just smiled, his host smile at me. "No, of course not Ryuu-sempai. They just requested that you make all the drinks when we have days like these." He said, starting to write in his notebook once more. I just nodded my head, and leaned my arms against the top of the bar, leaning my head against them. "I see." I mused then shrugged. "Sure I guess, Might as well do something within my interest." He just nodded and then went on his way, letting me continue with my own thing.

Soon the Host Club was finished, and we were left with a Tamaki eating instant noodles at a table away from everyone. I sighed a bit and shook my head as I dusted off my uniform top off. I stood off to the side, leaning against the small table where Kyoya was typing up information for the dance party. I caught a few things of what was being said around me, as I was starting to feel tired with all the sudden drama that day. I yawned into my hand a bit and couldn't help but jump in surprise as Tamaki's attitude suddenly changed once more.

"Haruhi, look like a woman already!" he demanded, pointing at her. I looked over at the tall blonde and blinked as he brought out a blown up picture of when Haruhi had long hair. Haruhi wasn't pleased at his, and yelled at him irritated. "What about Makoto?" Mitsukuni asked with a tilted head. This caused Tamaki go on another rant, and brought out another photo, this time of me when I had long hair, which was two years ago at my old high school. It was down to my waist in slight curls, with bangs hanging over my right eye. I was wearing the female uniform with a long skirt. "Ryuu-sempai should be a girl too! That way everyone could see how precious my daughter and her aunt are together!" Tamaki shouted.

I let out a groan and rubbed my temple a bit. "Tamaki-san, I'm going to put this as nicely as I can..." I said in a deathly quiet voice. This caused the whole club room to quite down as they all looked at me. "Burn that picture right now, or I will do it for you along with any sense of dignity that you have left for being a pervert." This caused the twins, Mitsukuni and Tamaki to shiver in fright since I was glaring at the tall blonde male. My forest green eyes looking at him sharply, as he gulped nervously and nodded quickly. "Hai Ryuu-s-sempai." He stuttered, putting the picture away quickly.

If I had been keeping close attention to everything, I would have noticed Takashi's eyes staring at my picture in surprise. If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed the smirk on Kyoya's face at this fact. If I had been paying attention, I would have seen the look on the twin's mischievous faces and the acknowledged look Mitsukuni's face. But I wasn't. I was more concerned with the fact that the blonde in front of me had my picture that I thought I had burned.

"Makoto's scary when she's irritated." I heard Mitsukuni whisper, probably hiding behind Takashi. Kyoya just shook his head, pushing his glasses up. "Do you really blame her and Haruhi though? Tamaki got their pictures without permission and blew them up." He said, as he continued to type. I sighed once more, rubbing my head again. "I think I'm going to head home." I mumbled and stood up from the table. As I grabbed my stuff from the corner of the room, I started yawning a bit, and stretched my back out. "Ah Ryuu-sempai, you'll need to learn how to dance by next week." Kyoya said, causing me to make a sound as I left the club room. 'Dance me? You've got to be kidding.' I thought with a slight pout as I walked down the stairs and out the front gates of the school.

When I got home, I was relieved that my sisters weren't there. Walking to my room, I dumped my book bag onto the floor, and took my uniform off so I was just wearing my camisole and slipped on a pair of plaid pyjama pants and laid down on my bed, closing my eyes, deciding to just take a nap. I didn't know why I was feeling so exhausted. Maybe it was because of all the drama from the day, maybe it was because of the sleepless nights I've been getting thanks to the level of homework we've been getting.

Once I opened my eyes again, it was morning out. I let out a yawn and lazily sat up and walked into the bathroom. I vaguely remembered that I had to learn some dancing, though for some reason, I wasn't too worried about it. I then showered and got dressed into my school uniform and went out to the kitchen to make breakfast. I left everything left over on the counter for my sisters since I had gotten up earlier than usual. I set the main alarm clock to wake them up and left a note on the fridge, letting them know that I went ahead earlier. After eating and washing my dishes, I packed my finished school work, which I doubled check was done, and headed out.

I don't know how long I walked, but I wasn't heading towards school. My mind was wondering, as were my feet, I suddenly started recognizing a bit of the area, realizing that I was heading towards the dojo Otou-san and I use to go to. If I had to guess I would say that it was about a half an hour to walk from the apartment to where I was at the moment. I looked around the small park and decided to take some time to just enjoy the outdoors for a bit. I knew I had to be at school within two hours, so I could easily take my time otherwise. I continued walking, humming a bit to myself, watching as the area around me started becoming more glamorous and well taken care of. My curiosity started to grow as I continued down the path.

I think it was another hour before I finally made it through the path of the park, and I looked around me in surprise. I was in the entrance to a beautiful old Japanese style garden, with a koi pond with a bridge going over it. There was a grove of sakura trees, lining one side of the garden, with willows lining the other side. There was a vegetable garden near the willows, already toiled, ready to be seeded, and an arrangement of flower beds by the sakura trees. I noticed a dojo in the center of the garden, or maybe it was a house, I wasn't sure at the moment. I walked deeper into the garden, looking around amazed by the site of it. It was then, that I smelt something sweet in the air, and closed my eyes a bit, recognizing the scent as freshly made dango.

I didn't realize that I was getting closer to the home/dojo until I heard a small gasp. "Makoto..." I heard Takashi say in surprise. This was when my eyes snapped open and I stumbled back. "T-Takashi!" I stuttered, and bowed quickly. "Gomen-nasai! I didn't know you lived here!" I said, squeezing my eyes shut as I looked down in embarrassment. I heard another pair of footsteps come over and a door sliding over. "Taka-nii?" I heard Satoshi asked curiously before he saw me. "Ah! Makoto-sempai!" he said happily. I heard soft footsteps come over to me and a hand on my head.

"Makoto... would you like to come in for breakfast?" I heard Takashi ask, causing me to straighten up and look up at him in surprise. He was wearing a loose fitting dark blue male kimono with the top slightly open, in contrast, Satoshi was wearing a lighter blue male kimono. I looked back at Takashi and looked back down, feeling like a child. "I wouldn't want to impose on you and your family anymore than I already have." I told him softly. "Awe, please Makoto-sempai! I'm sure Otou-san and Kaa-san won't mind. Will they Taka-nii?" Satoshi said with a pout. I saw a flicker of a smile grace Takashi's face once more before it was gone and he shook his head. "No, I'm sure they would be fine with it." He said. I shook my head again, as Satoshi let out a cheer.

"Takashi-san... I couldn't impose on your family so suddenly... besides... I should make my way to school..." I said, gulping a bit. "Aren't you picking Mitsukuni today Taka-nii?" Satoshi asked curiously. "Ah." The older brother said with a nod. "Then Makoto-sempai can go with you! That way it's guaranteed that he won't be late!" he said with a grin. I felt my shoulders slouch in silent surrender, knowing that I wasn't going to win against the younger Morinozuka. "Only if your family is alright with it..." I mumbled, running a hand through my hair now, since Takashi had removed his hand from my head.

"They were the ones who asked me to come get you." Takashi said, causing my cheeks to flush again. I looked up at him, and saw that his eyes held hidden amusement from this. I sighed a bit and just nodded my head, fully given in. Satoshi and Takashi then led me inside of the house. It was a traditional Japanese home, but it was huge. I felt myself shrink back a bit as Satoshi, pointed out all of the places in the mansion, on the main level.

Satoshi was in front of Takashi and I, taking the lead in maneuvering around the house. When we came into the dining area, we were greeted by an older male, who looked vaguely familiar to me for some reason, and a woman who just smiled at the three of us. Instead of wearing a kimono like their sons, both of them were wearing regular clothing, probably because they had to go out, was my guess. I noticed how much Takashi looked like his father, and smiled at us.

"Ah, Takashi, Satoshi, I see you two have found our wondering guest." He said nodding my head in my direction. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit as I bowed. "Gomen for intruding, I didn't realize that the path came onto your property." I said. The man just nodded and waved it away. "Ah, it is alright Ryuunosuke-chan." He said, causing me to look up in surprise. One would be how he knew my name, the second was that he called me a girl. "Though, it is nice to finally see someone come out from that path Akira." His wife said softly with a small smile. This reminded me of Takashi, making me add this to the back of my mind.

Nodding, Morinozuka-san beckoned us to the table. Satoshi readily went over, sitting next to his Okaa-san, while I hesitated a bit. That was until I felt someone give me a gentle push, I looked back at Takashi and he just nodded, giving me another small push towards the table. I let out a sigh, and walked hesitantly over to the table, being seated in between Satoshi and Takashi. I missed the look on the mother's face as I placed my hands in my lap, looking down at them.

"There isn't any need to be nervous we're not going to hurt you." I heard the soft voice of Takashi's mother say as they started passing around their breakfast. I looked over at her, and just nodded my head a bit. "H-hai Morinozuka-" I was cut off with a chuckle. "Mako-chan, there's no need for formalities here. Call me Akira-san, my wife Miko-san and Takashi and Satoshi as you normally would." Akira-san said, surprising me. I looked over at the older male with a tilted head, along with Takashi and Satoshi, who were both as confused as I was. Noticing this, Akira-san chuckled once more.

"Ah, I can see you don't remember the past then. Makoto-chan use to come here with her Otou-san, she would spar with you Takashi, then would watch over Satoshi when you had to do your training. This happened until you and her were ten." He explained easily. I blinked at this, remembering when I stopped doing Kendo, it was when Yuki-Okaa-san told Daichi-Otou-san that it wasn't proper for a girl to learn how to fight.

"Ah, then you're Daichi-Otou-san's friend." I said, snapping my fingers a bit in recognition.


	8. Chapter 8

Breakfast at Takashi's home was something I never expected to happen. His parents were kind and warm, welcoming me into their home. It seemed that Takashi's father, Akira, had recognized me, even though the last time I was there, at his dojo was when I was eleven. When I asked him about that, he just smiled at me. "Daichi knew how to get other's to make impressions of themselves." He said simply.

After breakfast, I insisted on helping with clean up, even though they did have maids to do it for them. They refused, like I knew they would, and told me that just by joining them, was thanks enough. I tried to argue with them, but in the end, I could only hang my head in defeat. Like Satoshi had said earlier, Takashi was picking up Mitsukuni. So here I was, sitting in Takashi's limo, looking down at my hands, with a slight pout placed firmly on my lips. I had been suckered into riding with Takashi, who was sitting across from me in a relaxed pose, with an arm draped over one of the seats.

'Satoshi-san will get it if I ever spar with him...' I thought, mentally sighing. He was the one who got me to accept a ride to school. He said that it was too long of a walk and that we only had a half hour until school started.

"_It would be easier to just get a ride with Taka-nii and Mitsukuni. I'm sure they won't mind." Satoshi told me with a bid smile. Akira, catching onto what his youngest was doing nodded. "Yes, Mako-chan, why not just get a ride with Takashi, I'm sure it's hard on your back to be carrying all of your school work and your weapons for kendo." He said, causing a blush to appear on my face._

"Gomen." A deep voice said, causing me to look up at Takashi in surprise. He wasn't looking at me, just out of the window, watching everything pass us by. I tilted my head, confused at this. "What do you mean Takashi-san?" I asked softly, hoping that I didn't offend him or anything. He looked over at me, watching me. "Gomen about my family. I did not think they would cause you such discomfort." He said, causing me to shake my head a bit and smile. "Iie." I said. "They didn't cause me any discomfort. You're family is actually very comforting." I said softly and looked out the window now. "It made me remember what a real family is like." I said softly. "All I have is Yuzu-chan and Taka-chan."

"You don't have parents?" Takashi asked me quizzedly, his brows raised in surprise. I shook my head again. "I have parents, but they divorced five years ago. Instead of going with either parent, my sisters and I decided to live in a place of our own. But we weren't alone, Haruhi's otou-san is friends with my otou-san, so he looked after us, while our parents sent us money." I explained. Then blinked in surprise.

It was the first time I talked so freely about my parents' divorce, since it happened. I looked down a bit, having a feeling that I had rambled too much. "Gomen Takashi-san, I didn't mean to ramble." I said quietly. Before he could reply though, the limo came to a stop and the door opened for Mitsukuni. "Ohayou Takashi!" Mitsukuni said as he got into the limo. The next thing I knew, I was being squeezed in a hug by the small blonde, who looked ecstatic that I was there. "Ohayou Makoto!" he said as he sat down next to Takashi. "Ohayou Mitsukuni." I said with a soft smile. As soon as the door shut, the limo was once again on its way to school.

"Neh, Takashi, did you pick Makoto up?" Mitsukuni asked, causing me lower my head, as my cheeks began to become warm, once again. I peaked a bit through my bangs, wondering what he would say. "Ah." He said, surprising me. Mitsukuni beamed at his and patted Takashi's head happily. "I'm glad! Makoto could have gotten hurt walking to school!" he said as he sat back down and played with his bunny. I looked out the window, confused, and curious as to why Takashi didn't tell Mitsukuni that I had found his home by accident.

The rest of the ride to school was silent, with the occasional question from the small blonde. I watched the trees and houses go by, surprised by how elegant the houses looked. I sighed softly and thought about what the rich people did in their spare times. I couldn't but think that they took everything that they had for granted as they lived the rich life. I didn't notice we were at school until Mitsukuni tapped my knee. "Makoto, we're here!" he said in a sing song voice. Blinking I looked out the window, and saw that we indeed were. "Ah, arigato Mitsukuni." I said softly with a smile and followed my two classmates out of the limo. It was a strange sensation, when I stepped out. The girls that had gathered squealed and started whispering to each other about if I was always going to be arriving with Mitsukuni and Takashi every day.

I just shook my head and started heading inside, letting my classmates talk with the girls. I didn't feel like dealing with them at the moment, and headed up to class. I sat down in my seat, placing my arms on top of the desk, then laid my head down. There was still quite a bit of time before class started, enough time for me to walk here from Takashi's home anyway. I let out a sigh as I wondered what we were going to do at the Host Club that day. I knew that I should apologize to Tamaki for my impatience, that made me wish the day would be done sooner.

"Ryuu-sempai." I heard the familiar voice of Kyoya reach my ears. I turned to head to the side and looked at him questionably. Wondering a few things. First was what he wanted, the second was why he couldn't wait till later and third was how he knew I was in my class. "Ohayou Kyoya." I said, lifting my head from my arms and supported my head with my left hand. "What do I owe the pleasure of having you visit me so early in the mornings?" I asked. "Ah, straight to the point like always Ryuu-sempai." He younger male said, and pushed his glasses up, the all too familiar glare, reflecting once again. "As you know, the host club is having a dance party next week and since you left early yesterday, I never got the chance to ask if you knew how to waltz." He said, giving me his host smile.

Tilting my head a bit, I shrugged. "Okaa-san made me take dance lessons for two years with just the waltz." I said, thinking back at how she made me quit kendo to be more 'lady like'. Kyoya nodded and wrote something down in his black book, something that I swore, was made to kill people. "I see, well, if you don't mind then Ryuu-sempai, I would like to test this. We have cancelled the Club for the week to get Haruhi ready for the dance party. I'm sure you won't mind if you had one of your guests or sisters come practice with you." He said.

I shook my head, smirking a bit. "That's fine, if you want a sister, I would suggest Takara, she's the one that I danced with more often because they never had enough male dancers." I told him. He nodded and jotted that down, at least I think he did. I never knew if it was a name or actual notes. I wanted to find out sometime though. "Alright, thank you Ryuu-sempai. See you after classes." He said and with that, he walked out of the room, making me wonder, just what purpose he really had with that. It seemed to me that he had a hidden agenda, which knowing him, he probably did. I just shook my head after he turned down the hall and went back to my previous position. Soon the warning bell rang, signalling everyone to get to class. I pulled out my books and waited, watching everyone in my class coming in and taking their seats. Takashi and Mitsukuni soon came in, and took their seats. Mitsukuni looked pleased about something, while Takashi, looked his normal self. I turned my head towards the teacher, who was just now coming in, and got ready for the day ahead.

Lunch soon came, which I was grateful for. I left the class room with my packed lunch and walked out into the garden. When I found a quiet place, I sat down under a tree, leaning back against the trunk. I let out a sigh, opening my bento box, taking out some onigiri and started eating. It had been a while since I had been able to eat by myself. I was usually joined by Mitsukuni and Takashi, or my sisters and Haruhi. I closed my eyes a bit, letting my posture relax as I let my mind drift to everything that was happening around me. I wondered when Daichi-otou-san was going to randomly visit us, as he often did when he missed us really bad, which happened about three times a week.

I chuckled softly to myself, opening my eyes slightly. I could never fault Daichi-otou-san for what he did or how he acted. After all, next to my sisters, he was the one who showed me the meaning of having fun and what a family was suppose to be like. It was when I was out of my thoughts, that I noticed someone coming towards me. I tilted my head back to get a better look and titled my head to the side, when I saw who it was.

"Mako-sempai!" It was Satoshi. He smiled at me brightly as he came over. "Satoshi? What are you doing over on this side?" I asked curiously, making room for the boy. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head a bit as he sat down next to me. "Well, I was looking for Taka-nii, I forgot to give him something before you and him left for school." He said, and held out a small cloth bag tied with some rope. I blinked a bit, before chuckling at him. "You seem to have absent minded sometimes neh Satoshi-kun." I said, causing him to laugh and blush a bit. "I suppose so Mako-sempai." He said, and smiled. "Could you give this to Taka-nii for me? Please Mako-sempai!" he asked, and started giving me the puppy eyes.

I just nodded at him, chuckling a bit. "Of course Satoshi-kun. You didn't need to give me the puppy eyes." I said, and ruffled his head a bit. He smiled widely at this and pretty much tackled me to the ground, in a hug. "Arigato Mako-nee!" he said happily. I patted his head, not noticing my small notebook that fell from my blazer pocket. Once Satoshi let me sit up, he saw the notebook and picked it up before I could grab it from him.

He smiled at me knowingly and held it away from me. "Neh Mako-nee, what's this? Can I look in it?" he asked, already opening it up. "You might as well, you already have it open." I said in defeat and pouted. He grinned and began flipping through the notebook. This notebook was my sketching pad, that I took everywhere with me. If I saw something that I liked, I would draw it. I would even admit that I have drawn everyone in the host club as well. I watched Satoshi's face as he looked through my sketches. I had drawn the entire host club in chibi form, deciding to have some fun with them. Apparently, he liked them, cause his mouth was slightly agape in wonder.

"Mako-nee! Did you really draw all of these?" he asked smiling widely at me as I nodded. I looked over a bit to see which one he was looking at, and felt heat make its way onto my face. He was looking at a picture of Takashi that I did recently. He was standing up, and holding Usa-chan, with a small smile on his face with one eye shut and the other open, so he was winking. "You should show Taka-nii this!" he said and stood up. "I'll do that for you Mako-nee!" he said and started running away. My eyes widen in horror, as I scrambled up and running after him. "Satoshi-kun! Give that back!" I shouted.

I didn't notice that we ran pasted Mitsukuni and Takashi, and that Satoshi and quickly handed Takashi my notebook. "Satoshi! When I get my hands on you...!" I left the sentence hanging, for him to fill in the rest. The boy just laughed happily as he made a loop. When we went passed my classmates again, I was suddenly lifted off of the ground. "Thanks Taka-nii!" Satoshi said, laughing some more. "Take care of Makoto-sempai!" with that, the boy left the high school side of Ouran. I down at Takashi, and pouted at him a bit as he slowly placed me down on my feet. "I wasn't going to hurt him." I said with a defeated sigh.

Mitsukuni then jumped onto my back, hugging his arms around my neck. "Neh, neh, Makoto, you like to draw neh?" he said smiling brightly at him. I nodded mutely as I saw my notebook in Takashi's hands. I ran a hand over my face, groaning, mentally scolding myself for not noticing earlier that Satoshi did that. "Iie Mitsukuni, ano... it's just a hobby of mine." I said quietly. "I really like them Makoto!" he said, smiling cutely at me as flowers popped up next to him. I smiled softly at him and patted his head softly. "Arigato Mitsukuni." I told him and looked over at Takashi and snapped my fingers.

"Ah, I almost forgot. Takashi, Satoshi-kun asked me to give you this. He forgot to give it to you this morning." I told him, taking out the bag from my pocket. I took his hand, and gently placed it in his palm. "Toshi-kun really looks up to Takashi, he really does love you." I said with a smile. I saw him smile back at me and nodded. He gently took my hand, placing my notebook into it. "Ah, as does your imouto's love you." He said, causing me to nod this time. "Un." I replied. I looked over at Mitsukuni, who had become quiet all of a sudden and saw him looking at us with a tilted head. He then smiled brightly and hopped off of my back.

He walked into the school a bit before turning around to look at us. "Neh, Takashi, Makoto. Let's get to class!" he said with a smile. He then hopped over to us and took one of our hands in his. "Let's walk together! It's more fun that way!" With that, we walked inside and back to class, my hand clutching my notebook, a new idea already popping into my head to be drawn.

The rest of the day went by without any trouble, thankfully, and I was able to do my sketch that stuck with me. Currently, I was on my way to the club room with Mitsukuni and Takashi. I yawned into my hand a bit, remembering that Haruhi and I were going to be 'instructed on how to waltz' during club hours. I kind of tuned Takashi and Mitsukuni out as I backed into my thoughts. When Okaa-san took me out of Kendo, and put me into dancing. When I got to the class with Takara, they were short some male dancers, so I volunteered to help, making it an even number of dancers. Besides that, I would also sneak out of the house with Daichi-otou-san and practiced kendo, so I wouldn't lose touch with it.

Once we were in the club room, I was tackled from behind, by someone jumping onto my back. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at Takara, who grinned at me. "Yo, Pinky, glad to see you came to school after all." I teased as I gave her a piggy back ride to the middle of the room where Haruhi, her guest from yesterday and the rest of the club were. "Mako-nii, I can't believe you got stuck having to 'learn' how to dance again." Takara said exasperatedly, with a hint of teasing. I just smirked at her. "Oh yes, my dear sister, because we all know how horrible my memory is." I said sarcastically as I dumped her down onto the couch. This caused her to pout at me and whine a bit.

"That was mean Mako-kun." She said, playing the part of having an older brother well. "I love you too imouto-chan." I said with a bit of a grin. Scowling at me, Takara made room on the couch, where I sat down. She was then unprepared for the bombing of Mitsukuni, who landed on her stomach with a big smile. "Neh, neh you're Makoto's imouto neh?" he asked eagerly. Takara nodded slowly, staring at Mitsukuni with wide eyes. She then looked over at me, and blinked a few time. "Makoto..." she whined, causing me to chuckle. "Hai Taka-chan?" I asked, already knowing what was up. My sister then sat up, wrapping her arms around Mitsukuni and squeezed him a bit, rubbing her cheek against his. "He's so kawaii!" she squealed.

The twins then came over, seeing what was happening and started laughing. "Oh Taka-chan, you're so funny." They said in unison as they pinched her cheeks playfully. This caused her snap out of what she was doing, her face going bright red as she slapped the twins hands away. "Shut up you chikans!" she yelled. This caused Kyoya to sigh as he walked over to us. "If you don't mind, it would be best to start the lessons." He said, causing me to nod. "Ah, hai. Gomen Kyo-kun." I said as I stood up, offering my arm to my sister, who took it with a knowing smirk.

I looked over to Haruhi, who seemed very sceptical about this. I turned to her and smiled at her, giving her an encouraging nod. "It'll be alright Haruhi, just follow along, I'm sure Kasugazaki-san will be very helpful." I said. "Makoto-sempai, do you know how to dance or something?" she asked me, in a grumble. I nodded my head a bit. "Un, Kaa-san made me go into dancing." I said, not saying anything about being forced to go quit kendo.

Soon my sister and I were dancing, just like how we use to. "Neh, Taka-chan, doesn't this bring back memories?" I asked her softly as we danced across the floor. Takara nodded and laughed a bit. "Un. Kaa-san was so mad that you took the opposite role in dance class." She agreed. I chuckled and nodded. "Mhmm, but she couldn't do anything, after all, I was learning how to dance." I added, and we both had a chuckle at that. We then stopped, and I mockingly bowed to her. "Always a pleasure Imouto-chan." I said winking at her and caused her to laugh.

I noticed that Takara almost skipped over to Kyoya and held her hand out to him. 'Ah, she bribed him.' I thought, shaking my head a bit. It seemed no one else noticed the little exchange with them and I looked around the Host club. Tamaki was sitting in a corner, looking sullen as he watched Haruhi learning how to dance. I noticed the twins were sitting down playing video games while Mitsukuni was spinning Takashi around. After the 'dance lessons' were done, I was standing with Mitsukuni and Takashi, talking about some random things. "Neh Makoto, you dance very well." Mitsukuni said, causing me to tilt my head a bit at him. "Ah? Arigato Mitsukuni. Kaa-san thought it would be the best thing for me to go into." I said smiling smally.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Kasugazaki-san looking frazzled as she abruptly left the club room. I tilted my head in confusion as Mitsukuni went over to Haruhi, who was carrying a box of breakables, and jumped onto her back, saying something to her. I looked over at Takashi with a tilted head, wondering what was going on, but all he did, was push the small of my back, causing me to go forwards. I mentally sighed at him, not too surprised that he was doing this. As we walked over, I heard that Kasugazaki-san was engaged to the male who brought the box over. I tilted my head a bit in surprise. 'They still do arrange marriages?' I thought, frowning slightly at that.

I listened as Kyoya and the twins bash Kasugazaki-san's fiancé. At that time, Mitsukuni came over to us and climbed up Takashi's back, saying that Tohru was a nice person, causing me to look up at him. It was then that Tamaki stepped up, saying that we had to draw out a plan. Confused as the other's, we asked him for what, as he explained that our club was to bring fortune to the ladies. I snorted a bit at this. "So in other words Tama-kun, you want to bring those two, together." I said, simplifying it. Turning to me, tears started sprouting from his eyes as he, in slow motion, started running towards me. "Aunty get's me Okaa-san!" he said.

Just when he was about to hug me, a hand stopped from. I blinked blandly and looked up at Takashi and smiled a bit. "Arigato Takashi." I said and turned back to Tamaki, who somehow, made it to his little corner of woe. "I wasn't going to harm Aunty..." he mumbled under his breath. I turned to Kyoya with a raised eyebrow, hoping he would shed some light. "Tamaki is bringing this club like a family. He calls himself Otou-san, and by position, that makes me Okaa-san. Haruhi is his daughter, and it seems like you are the aunt." He explained. I let my mouth shape into and oh as I nodded. "Such trouble..." I mumbled, running a hand through my hair.


	9. Chapter 9

The week passed without much of blink. The twins and Kyoya got me involved with making a love letter, which, when I went over it, I couldn't help but laugh at. They told me a plan involving Haruhi, but I had a sneaking suspicion, that they had a plan for me as well. Oh well, it wasn't like I could do anything to them anyways. I was just one girl, and they, were a bunch of stuck up rich guys. Yes, my view of them hasn't changed much since I've been involved with them.

I came to the Host club early to get dressed. I could say that I was glad that the twins had brought suits for Haruhi and myself. I was the first one there surprisingly and walked into the change room, finding the suit that was left for me. It was a brown suit jacket and pants with a forest green shirt, a light brown vest and a light blue tie. I took the clothing and went into the change room to get dressed. When I got out, I saw that Haruhi was looking at her suit with a bit of a frown. Chuckling at the girl, I straightened out my tie.

"It's not as bad as it seems." I said, causing her to jump, and turn around in surprise. "Makoto! What are you doing here so early?" she asked, placing a hand against her chest. I shrugged a bit as I adjusted the collar of my sleeves. "Getting ready. Yuzu-chan and Taka-chan wanted to see the ballroom before it was swarmed with people." I told her as she grabbed her brown suit and walked into the change room. "Do you actually want to do this Makoto?" Haruhi asked me after a few minutes of silence. "I mean I understand that it's important to be a host and all, but why do we have to do this?" She said, and I heard her sigh heavily as she walked out of the change room.

"I think that's simple." I told her, smiling a bit to myself. "I think they want to show us their world, and how they make girls feel, while trying to figure out, why we don't share their opinions." I said with a shrug, then looked over at her with a smile. "But that's just what I've gathered. Who knows, maybe they've fallen for us and want to keep us for themselves." I giggled. Haruhi sighed and shook her head at my logic. "Sometimes I don't understand you Makoto." She sighed and the two of us walked out of the change rooms.

When we reached the main room, the rest of the club was there. Hikaru and Kaoru walked around Haruhi and I, making sure we looked presentable. "They will do." They replied together as they shrugged. I rolled my eyes a bit, walking over to Mitsukuni and Takashi as the twins started harassing Haruhi. I stretched out my arms a bit, and yawned into my hand. "When does this thing start?" I asked, wanting to get it over and done soon. Kyoya looked over at us, pushing up his glasses and smirked a bit. "Soon Ryuu-sempai. Now, you will be standing below Tamaki, between Haruhi and myself." He said, and I just nodded. "I know Kyo-kun, you told me that earlier today." I said blandly, rolling my eyes at him. "And don't forget, that you're helping us..." I just sent him a look, cutting off his sentence. "I know Kyo-Kyo. Stop reminding me or else I'll start calling you embarrassing names." I said.

This caused him to pause a bit in his speech, and just smiled. "As you insist Ryuu-sempai." He said, closing his notebook. I rolled my eyes at the boy and sighed softly. Mitsukuni then tugged on my arm, causing me to tilt my head at him. "Makoto will have fun tonight neh?" he said with a bright smile. I chuckled and nodded. "Hai Mitsukuni, I'll try to have fun tonight." I told him. He nodded happily at me and the next thing I knew, Mitsukuni was twirling me around the club room. "Let's warm up neh Makoto!" he said happily. I laughed a bit and nodded. "Hai Mitsukuni, we don't want to run out of steam as we dance." I said with a smile. As soon as we stopped spinning, I tried to get myself stable on my feet, but I was seeing the world spinning, and felt one of my feet slip under me and I knew that my mouth was opening and closing like a fish as I let myself bend to fates will to fall. When I thought I was going to hit the floor, I was caught in a pair of arms, causing me to groan a bit.

"Mitsukuni." A deep voice said in my ear. I looked up, seeing Takashi, who had caught me. He was wearing a navy tux suit. "You shouldn't spin others around so fast." He said. Mitsukuni looked down, nodding. "Gomen Makoto." he said with a pout. "Don't worry about it Mitsukuni, I just got dizzy, that's all." I told him. Once Takashi, helped me get onto my feet properly, his hand warm on my shoulders, I turned to him and gave him a smile. "Arigato Takashi, you seem to always be catching me now a days." I said, scratching the back of my head a bit. He just nodded. "You're welcome Makoto." He said.

"Now that, that's done with, Tamaki, we should start the dance party now." Kyoya said with a bit of a sigh. I looked over to Haruhi, who looked about as amused as one could with what we were having to go through. I ran a hand through my hair, and felt the warmth of Takashi's hands leave my shoulders as he went back to stand next to Mitsukuni. When everyone started walking out, I started to follow, shutting off the lights and closing the door. I looked up from the ground, feeling that someone was standing there. It was Takashi. I tilted my head to the side out of curiosity, wondering what he wanted.

Takashi didn't say anything as he handed me something. "You forgot this in class." He said, then turned around, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walked away. I looked down at my hand, seeing what it was. It was a small charm, about the size of my thumb in the shape of a dragon. It was the colour of purple with sparkling white eyes. I don't know how long I looked at it, but, I quickly placed it into my pocket, catching up to my fellow hosts. I decided that I would try to figure out where it was from afterwards. 'It isn't mine... I've never seen it before today.' I thought frowning a bit, thinking of asking Takashi later that night.

As I came into the hall, which was decorated, showing the amount of wealth that these people had. Even though the room itself was dim, we all found our places and stood where we were supposed to be. I listened as Tamaki talked above me. The chandeliers soon lit one by one, eliminating us as we bowed. It felt funny to me, standing there up on the stage. All the girls were dressed, and clapped, looking at us happily. Kyoya then told everyone that the best dancer would receive a kiss from Tamaki, who in turn told them all to do their best and winked at them, since a few girl started to fain.

I chuckled at Haruhi, who just sighed heavily, not at all wanting to dance. Kyoya told Haruhi that she could just enjoy the food there, this caused her to look at everyone in surprise before blushing a bit. "Like ootoro?" she asked. This caused the rest of the club to become silent. Kyoya's pen broke and the twins immediately started glomping the poor girl. I moved back over to Mitsukuni and Takashi as Tamaki jumped down, ordering Kyoya to get some. I laughed behind my hand at the scene, and shook my head.

"Neh, what does Makoto like?" Mitsukuni asked as he attached himself onto my back. I smiled at him, a small blush reaching my cheeks. "I enjoy dango's as well as yokan Mitsukuni." I told him. I could feel Takashi look at me a bit, and when I looked over at him, his expression suggested that he was surprised. "Neh, Makoto likes traditional food then?" Mitsukuni asked, causing me to nod. "Un, I do. They're the healthiest and best recipes to make." I told him with a smile. Mitsukuni smiled back and nodded. "Un, Takashi's family like traditional foods too. Neh Takashi?" Mitsukuni said. I saw a bit of a smile on Takashi's lips as he nodded. "Ah." He agreed. I nodded and soon everyone went their own way. I was by a balcony, looking out at the setting sun. Yuzuki came over to me and tapped me on the shoulder with a smile.

"Mako come on, dance with me." She said tugging on my arm. I chuckled and nodded. "As you wish Yuzu-chan." I said, taking her arm in the crook of my arm. When we got to the dance floor, we started dancing. It wasn't often that Yuzuki wanted to dance, so whenever she asked, I would agree. Yuzuki was a shy dancer. She didn't dance much with anyone, unless she really wanted to.

"You're doing a pretty good job as a host Makoto." My sister whispered to me as I spun her around a bit. "Some of the girls in the class always talk about how protective you are." She smirked at me a bit. "Just don't start swinging their way." She told me as I chuckled. "I don't think I could sis, it just isn't my style." I teased, bowing to her once the song finished. I winked playfully at my sister as she grinned at me, I let her walk off, seeing that she was heading towards the twins. I smiled at her, watching as she blended into the crowd. I honestly wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't have my sisters.

I started walking around the room, going towards the food and drinks, feeling a bit peckish and thirsty. I picked up a glass of punch and started sipping it. I looked behind me, and saw that Takashi was walking towards me. I noticed that Mitsukuni was surrounded by girls, each taking a turn dancing with him. I picked up another cup of punch, and handed it to my tall classmate. He nodded his thanks to me and took a sip. We stood in silence for a few minutes, the sound of the orchestra filling the silence. "

"How is your evening Takashi?"I asked looking up at him. Takashi paused a bit as he stared off at something. "It is well." He said then looked down at me. "Dancing much?" he asked, causing me to shake my head. "Iie, just my sisters." I said softly and looked down in my cup. I felt a hand on my head, causing me to look up at Takashi with a bit of a pout. "Meet in the club room." He told me, with a bit of a smile on his face. I tilted my head at him once his hand was gone, but he had left before I could ask. I shrugged and made my way up. Once inside, the twins and Kyoya were already there. The twins hopped up to me, holding a package.

"Ryuu-sempai, you gave Tohru the note right?" They asked, causing me to roll my eyes at them. "Of course I did. I've done my part of the plan." I told them crossing my arms over my chest. Kyoya soon smirked at something, but said nothing about it. Soon Takashi and Mitsukuni came in with Haruhi draped over Takashi's shoulder. I shook my head a bit as she was put down, handed the package and pushed into the change room. Kyoya then told Haruhi how much time she had to get the plan down. I walked around the change room. Soon Haruhi came out of the change room, and the twins quickly did her makeup. I chuckled a bit, shaking my head, watching the twins do their work.

"Don't make it to heavy neh, we don't need Haruhi's face to fall off." I teased them. They looked at me with a bit of a pout. "But Ryuu-sempai! How can you not acknowledge that we know what we're doing!" they whined as they finished Haruhi. I just shrugged at them, not willing to into detail. When Tamaki came in, he stared at Haruhi, transfixed by her. She was wearing a wig that resembled her hair as it use to be before school started. I titled my head a bit and waved my hand in front of his face, getting no reaction. 'Yup, the poor sap is gone.' I thought shaking my head a bit. I walked over to Kyoya and stood near him.

"So how long do you think it'll be when he realizes?" I asked him. My question seemed to amuse him because he started to smile a bit. "I give it till the end of the year." He said, marking something down in his notebook. I smirked a bit at that and nodded. "Agreed." We then joined the other's, wishing Haruhi good luck with her quest. Soon, when she was out of sight, Tamaki then walked where the younger girl went. Mitsukuni and Takashi told everyone that they would go entertain the guest, leaving as well. I was going to go with them when I felt a tug on the back of my jacket.

I looked over with a tilted head and saw the looks on the twins face. "Gomen Ryuu-sempai, but you won't be joining them." Kyoya said, pushing up his glasses. I gave him a confused look as I was literally dragged into the change room by the twins. "Ano Kyoya, but how will I be able to lower my debt, if I can't host?" I asked, as the twins handed me a package. "I made a deal with your sisters." He told me, causing my eyebrow to raise now. "They said that if you can host for the first half of the night, and have the rest of it off to have fun. Then they would start a fundraiser for the club." He said, and I knew there was more too it then that.

With one push the twins got me into the change room. "Hurry up and change Ryuu-sempai, we want to get you out before anyone else notices." Hikaru said. "Cause no one else but us know that we're doing this." Kaoru added. I rolled my eyes at them and took off my suit. I pulled out a simple forest green dress that that had a lighter green ribbon that tied at the back. I pulled it on, tying the ribbon loosely at my back and slipped on the black flats. I noticed a wig came along with the dress and pulled it on. When I looked into the mirror I had to tilt my head a bit.

The wig went down to my waist with slight curls. It was longer than how I use to have my hair, which was usually just around my shoulders. The bangs were long and over lapped my right eye, hiding it from view. As I stepped out of the curtains, I ran a hand through the wig. "Is this really necessary?" I asked, as they twins brought me over to the makeup chair. "Yes it is Ryuu-sempai. There's a theory that I would like to confirm as well, so please, be patient." Kyoya said. 'A theory?' I thought, feeling my eye twitch a bit. 'He's using me for a bloody experiment!'

"Done!" the twins suddenly said and stepped back to admire their work. "You know Ryuu-sempai, if you just grew your hair out, and wore more feminine clothing, you could be a model." They said. I stood up and shook my head. "I doubt it Hikaru, Kaoru. Besides, it shouldn't matter how one looks anyway." I smiled at them a bit. They just shrugged and started pushing me out the door. "Now hurry Ryuu-sempai and get some dances in!" they grinned. I sighed heavily and shook my head at the twins.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and saw Kyoya offering me his arm. I rolled my eyes a bit and took it, letting him lead me out of the third music room. "You know Ryuu-sempai. The girls already know that you would only be able to stay for the first half of tonight." He said, causing me to nod. "That's what I figured Kyoya. Now would you mind telling me why I'm being forced to dress up like a girl?" I said, slightly irritated that I was being forced to do this. He chuckled a bit as we entered the hall. "That's easy sempai. I want to figure out something, and the only way to do it is by this. Now go have some fun, mingle, eat, and have a few dances." He said and let go of my arm. I rolled my eyes again, and walked over to the punch, I was feeling thirsty again. When I got there, I didn't notice anyone else until a cup came into my view. I blinked a bit and took the cup, looking up at who gave it to me, and saw Takashi.

"Arigato Morinozuka-san..." I said quietly, not knowing how else to say. He just nodded at me and looked out into the dance floor. I took a sip and tilted my head a bit. "Are you looking for someone?" I asked quietly. He nodded and looked down at me a bit. "Ah." He said and soon put his glass down, and held his hand out to me. "Dance?" he asked. I looked at him in surprise, but nodded a bit, finishing the punch. I gently placed my hand in his extended one and he led me out into the dance floor.

Once we found a place among the other dancers, we started dancing. I never realized how easy it was to dance with a male, instead of being the male. I wasn't sure how long we danced for, but soon it time to stop as Kyoya and the twins told everyone that it was time for the main event. Takashi bowed to me a bit, and I curtsied slightly, then he left, going over to the other hosts. I let out a sigh as my sisters came up to me, hooking their arms with my own.

"You know Nee-chan, we should get you into female clothes more often." Takara said with a giggle as we walked over to the balcony. "Un I agree, Nee-chan looks kawaii as a girl." Yuzuki giggled. We rested against the balcony, watching the couple in the courtyard dance together. "Wouldn't it be nice to find someone to do that for you?" Takara sighed dreamily. "You're still too young for any romance Taka-chan. You too Yuzu-chan." I said, causing them to pout. I laughed softly and looked over at the Host Club, seeing that Haruhi was back to wearing her suit.

I noticed that the twins were eating a banana and I couldn't help but smirk. "Keep your eyes on Tamaki." I whispered to my sisters who were now watching the Host King. "Tonight's dance queen is..." Hikaru said holding the banana peel in his hand. "...Princess Kasugasaki Kanako!" Kaoru finished, also holding a banana peel in his hand. The couple in the courtyard looked at the host club in surprise as everyone started clapping.

I then notice the twins dropping the peels as they continued talking. "Well then, the blessing kiss from the king..." Hikaru started, and Kaoru finished once again. "...has now been changed to being from Fujioka Haruhi!" I had to place my thumb into my mouth so I couldn't laugh out loud, figuring out what they were going to do. My sisters looked at me with a tilted head and I just grinned at them. "Watch Haru-chan and Tamaki." I told them. Watching the two, they were not pleased, but the twins just looked around 'innocently'.

Once Haruhi was in the courtyard, she took Kanako's face in her hands and tilted her face to the side, ready to kiss her cheek, but Mitsukuni must have said something, causing Tamaki to panic and run down the steps, trying to stop the kiss, but low and behold, he stepped on the missing banana peels, which caused him to fly forward, and pushed on Haruhi's back, which caused her to jerk, and end up kissing Kanako's lips instead. This caused the other girls to squeal as my sisters and I started laughing hard.

I wrapped my arms around their shoulders still laughing, and smiled at them. "Let's go home neh imouto's?" I said, causing them to nod in agreement. With that we left Ouran, with a good laugh, and a good time. It made me wonder though, what would happen in the upcoming month.


	10. Chapter 10

The cherry blossoms were almost done blooming, and it was about a month after Haruhi gave up her first kiss thanks to Tamaki. My sisters and I were still laughing about it, and they teased Haruhi relentlessly about it. Currently, the Host club was outside, half of us were dressed as waiters, the other half in traditional Japanese wear. I was with Haruhi, Takashi and Mitsukuni, dressed in a simple brown kimono, I was bringing out traditional sweets for everyone. Mitsukuni was making some traditional tea, but he was stirring it too fast. The girls were watching transfixed, as well as Haruhi when I came back with the sweets. I sat opposite of the girls with a tilted head. Mitsukuni was concentrating hard on making the tea when suddenly Takashi leaned over to the smaller boy, telling him that he spilled too much. I took this chance to pass around the buns as the girls told Mitsukuni that he made the right amount of tea for them, causing him to smile at the brightly.

Looking over at Haruhi, I noticed that she was starring at the falling cherry blossoms and I smiled at her. "Neh, Haruhi, if you'd like to take a break, you can." I told the girl, who looked at me in relief. "Arigato Makoto-sempai." She said and stood up and started walking around, going to the other side, where the twins, Tamaki and Kyoya were hosting. I watched Takashi and Mitsukuni as they interacted with the girls, noticing that we were running low on food again. It seemed that Takashi noticed this as well as we both stood up to get some more. We blinked at each other and gave one another a nod as we went over to where the food was being held. What we were looking for was on one of the top shelves, so it was lucky that Takashi came along with me. He took down the food from the shelves as I held them. He then took one box, leaving one on the counter as both of us carried one tray.

When we came back out, all I could notice was that Tamaki was sitting on the ground looking defeated while the twins were grinning wildly around Haruhi. Tilting my head a bit, I placed the snacks down, and excused myself, walking over to the group. "Is something wrong Tamaki?" I asked, looking over at Haruhi, who just sighed in returned. Kyoya pushed his glasses up a bit with a small sigh, directing me to a pie chart that he had brought out.

"Tamaki isn't pleased that he spends less time with Haruhi than you or the twins." He said, pointing to the percentage on the board. I tilted my head a bit and chuckled at how silly that was. "It shouldn't matter how much time you spend with someone, rather it should be what you do in that time frame." I said folding my arms into the sleeves of my Kimono. This seemed to get Tamaki's attention as he bolted up and grabbed me by my shoulders shaking me a bit.

"Oba-san! You're absolutely right!" he declared, then forcing me to his shoulder he pointed at Kyoya. "Okaa-san! What about Oba-san! What's that one like?" he asked, almost pleadingly. Sighing, Kyoya shook his head and flipped the page, showing my stats. This caused my eye to twitch a bit.

"As you can see Otou-san, Oba-san only sees you the same amount as Haruhi does. She spends more time with Hunny-sempai and Mori-sempai, since they are in class together as well add the fact that she is also in the kendo club with them..." Kyoya said, this caused Tamaki to slump down to the ground with a whine. I sighed along with Kyoya as we looked at each other and shook out heads a bit. "Cheer up Tama-kun, it's not like Haru-chan will fall for one of the twins." I said knowingly. I then patted his shoulder and walked back to Mitsukuni and Takashi.

I was greeted by Mitsukuni giving me a tight hug when I came over. "Makoto! Was something wrong with Tama-chan?" the small boy asked curiously. I chuckled and shook my head, smiling softly at him. "No Mitsukuni, Tama-kun is just upset because he doesn't spend a lot of time with Haruhi." I told him as I sat down next to Takashi. The girls around us were all blushing faintly at the display of friendliness we had for one another. I saw a look in Takashi's eyes that I hadn't seen before I tilted my head a bit towards him, but he just shook his head at me, telling me not to worry about it.

Soon the Club activities were over and everyone was done cleaning up, and we were changed back into our uniforms. We were lounging in the club room, I was laying down on one of the couches with my feet hanging off of the arm of the couch, and next to me were Takashi and Mitsukuni. Across from us was the twins and Haruhi with Kyoya and Tamaki each sitting on a chair. Kyoya was typing on his laptop, the glare from the computer screen, reflecting off of his glasses.

"You know Ryuu-sempai, Haruhi, the whole school will know that you're females with the upcoming physical exam." The twins stated nocturnally. I groaned at that, having forgotten about the examinations, which Haruhi tilted her head a bit confused. Everyone let the words of the twins sink in, and they froze a bit.

"Well I have a doctor's appointment on that day anyways, so I won't be here." I said. This happened last year as well, my sisters had their appointments after me, so I knew we wouldn't be at school. I suddenly looked at Kyoya, who looked pleased with himself. "Ah, that doctors appointment? I'm afraid that your doctor is coming here Ryuu-sempai. After all, I've heard remarkable things about him. I believe that my father might be hiring him to one of our hospitals." He said.

I frowned at his, my eyes narrowing at him. 'Damn bastard...' I thought, flopping back down onto the couch with my arms crossing over my chest. Mitsukuni looked down at me, seeing my frown, and smiled brightly. "But Makoto, that means can all be together!" he said, and flowers started sprouting around him. I chuckled softly and patted his head lightly. "Ah, that's true Mitsukuni." I told him, and noticed that Takashi was looking over us. I smiled at him a bit and nodded, causing him to nod back.

Apparently this little exchange didn't go unnoticed by the twins, Mitsukuni and Kyoya. Cause the next thing I knew, I was squashed between the twins, with one on either side of me as they hugged me tightly. "Awe isn't Ryuu-sempai cute when she smiles Mori-sempai?" they asked. The sudden question forced me not blush as I tried to push them off of me. "If you two ever want children, I would suggest you back away quickly and not look back." I whispered, threatening them.

Gulping, the twins were soon back next to Haruhi, cowering at her side. This got Tamaki going on a jealous rampage, yelling at the twins to get their hands off of his precious daughter before they corrupted her. This made me sigh in peace as I went back to my comfortable position on the couch and closed my eyes. 'Thank goodness for easy distractions.' I thought with a mental sigh.

Soon everyone started heading home. Haruhi was going to the library for some extra studying, so I was going to be walking home alone that day. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I started walking down the street towards the apartment buildings when a limo stopped next to me. This caused me to stop walking and raise an eyebrow curious as to who it was. The door opened and Mitsukuni's face appeared, smiling brightly at me.

"Makoto!" Mitsukuni cheered as he shot himself towards me. It was a good thing I was paying attention, cause if I didn't, he would have landed on the ground instead of my arms. "M-Mitsukuni? What are you doing over in this end?" I asked confused as my classmate smiled up at me brightly. Once I put him back on the ground, I looked over at the limo seeing Takashi standing there, his arms crossed over his chest with an amused look on his face.

I rolled my eyes at him as Mitsukuni grabbed my hand, pulling me over to him. "Takashi and I were thinking of going to a cake shop!" Mitsukuni said excitedly with a small skip in his steps. I laughed at that and nodded. "That's good, I hope you guys find some nice ones." I told them with a smile as Mitsukuni. I was going to turn away, when I saw the look on my smaller friends face. I tilted my head a bit as Mitsukuni pouted at me.

"Makoto, we wanted you to come with us too!" He whined, grabbing my hand with both of his. I mentally sighed at him as I looked down towards him, my eyes softening lightly. "I would love you Mitsukuni, but I'm afraid that I can't." I told him. "I need to study for the upcoming test in history." I told him gently. He pouted some more, then had a look in his eyes that told me he was thinking about something. "Then Takashi can help you study!" he said with a grin on his face. I raised an eyebrow at my friend, wondering what he was thinking.

"It's alright Mitsukuni. I wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone." I told him, ruffling his hair lightly. I didn't look at Takashi, who I knew was staring at me, his eyes slightly narrowed, if I was right. "But I should be getting home now, there's some things I need to do still." I told them and looked over at Takashi, our eyes meeting. "Really, I'll be fine, you two go have fun looking and trying out cakes." I told them, casting my eyes down to Mitsukuni, who pouted more at me. I took this time to take a step back, I then turned a little, giving them a small wave before walking down the street once again.

I felt bad about turning Mitsukuni and Takashi down, but I really did have to go home, my father was coming up for a visit, and he hated it when the place was a mess. Turning down the street, I came up to our apartment building and walked inside. There, I saw my siblings cleaning and smiled a bit. "What's left to do?" I asked them, putting my bag and blazer away. Hippy turned to me, pointing to the bathroom. "That, your room and the guest room." She said as she turned back to the kitchen where she was cleaning.

Nodding I walked over to my room and changed into a pair of sweats and a tank top. I grabbed the cleaning supplies from one of the closets and went into the bathroom. I could hear Pinky in their room cleaning it while she hummed loudly to herself. Hippy was also humming to herself, both of them were humming different tunes, that I couldn't help but chuckle at them. Grabbing my music player, I plugged my ear buds in and pressed play, drowning my sisters out. I started with the toilet, working my way to the shower and sink.

I didn't notice how much time passed, but I was soon in my room, picking up my dropped clothes and little nick nacks around my room, making the floor spotless. Soon I heard a knock on my door, making me jump a bit in surprise, catching the bemused look on Takara's face. "Supper's ready sis, geez you're easy startle." She teased, tucking her pink hair behind her ear. Popping an ear bud out of my ear, I stuck my tongue out at her as I stood up from my kneeling position. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm coming, when's otou-san coming?" I asked as the two of us walked out of my room and into the kitchen where Yuzuki was seated already. "Geez Taka-nee, Mako-nee, you're both so slow." She teased us as the two of us sat down for supper.

"Otou-san will be here in about an hour." Yuzuki said as we started eating. "Then if you both have the rest of the house cleaned, do the guest room, I have homework to do before he comes." I told them as I started eating. Once finished, I washed my bowl and plate before putting them away and going back to my room, taking out my homework. I had math, English and Japanese history to do. I started with math to get it out of the way. I could hear my sisters complaining about having the clean the other room and chuckled to myself. 'At least they'll get some cleaning done, it's not like they do any of it usually anyway.' I thought to myself with a slight smirk.

I must have zoned out for there was an excited knock on the door, followed by whines of being let in. Shaking my head, I stood up from my desk and walked out into the living room, my sisters were scrambling to put away the cleaning supplies. "Taka-chan, Yuzu-chan, Mako-chwan open up for papa!" a voice whined on the other side of the door. Rolling my eyes I walked over to the door and opened it up, only to be glomped and spun around by a middle aged man, he held me tightly to him, rubbing our cheeks together.

"I knew you loved me Mako-chwan!" he said dramatically. He was dressed as a male this time around, usually Daichi-otou-san dressed as woman. With long brown hair, pink lipstick and, usually wearing a black dress and heels, our father was one for dramatics. "Hai, hai Daichi-otou-san." I said dryly. "Can you put me down now please?" I asked bluntly, causing my father to whine a bit, holding me tightly to him. "But Mako-chwan!" he whined into my ear, making me wince a bit. "Oh be quiet!" I told him with a sigh.

"Otou-san! What have I told you about keeping Makoto-nee hostage!" Yuzuki scolded as she came over to us. I let out a sigh as Daichi-otou-san whimpered in fright and put me down. "I'm sorry Yuzuki-chan!" he said, pouting. "Honestly, Otou-san! This happen every time you visit us!" Takara stated with a dramatic sigh. I rubbed my neck a bit as Daichi-otou-san hugged Yuzuki and Takara as tightly as he hugged me. "Okay, okay Daichi-otou-san. You missed us, we get it." I said with a sigh. I grabbed his bags and took them to the guest room where he would be staying before he went back.

Walking back to the living room, I smiled seeing Daichi-otou-san, Yuzu-chan and Taka-chan sitting on the couch talking about who knows what. I went into the kitchen and started up some tea, grabbing some sweets that had been made a day before. I walked back into the living room with the tea and sweets, setting them down on the table in front of them.

"Yuzu-chan and Taka-chan were just telling me how you're in this... club full of guys and Haru-chan?" My otou-san said uncertainly. "Hai, it's called the Host Club, and despite what it seems, it's not that bad." I said, before he could go all protective over me. "Yea besides she has a nice strong male to look out for her." Takara teased, making me flush a bit. "Not true Taka-chan! Takashi is my friend!" I countered with a slight pout.

Daichi-otou-san raised an eyebrow as he grinned at me, Yuzuki and Takara giggling beside him. "Oh? Takashi?" he asked, making my sisters laugh. "What's his last name?" "Morinozuka. His name is Morinozuka, Takashi." I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest with a pout. "Oh ho ho ho! Morinozuka-kun eh!" he cooed. "It's been years since I've seen them. So my lil Makoto-chwan is hanging around lil Takashi-kun eh? Just like how you were younger! You were always at his side when you were looking after Satoshi-kun." He said, making me groan.

"Enough about that Tou-san." I mumbled, sipping my tea. "What brings you to visit us huh?" I asked, leaning against my hands a bit. Daichi-otou-san let out a sigh, pouting at us slightly. "Can't I visit my three beautiful girls without a reason?" he whined, making the three of us roll out eyes at him. "Of course Otou-san, but you're staying for a week, that's not like you." Yuzuki pointed out. Pouting some more, he sighed. "Fine, fine, I'm taking a break away from work. I wanted to catch up with Ranka-kun and go see the Morinozuka's again." He said with a pout.

Takara and Yuzuki laughed softly at our father as they hugged him. "Well at least it's not something weird like last time Otou-san." Yuzuki said. "How's your boyfriend by the way?" I asked curiously, knowing that our father was in a relationship with another guy. Clearing his throat a bit, Otou-san looked out the window a bit. "We're... having a break from one another... we had a fight two days ago..." he said quietly.

I frowned at that and stood up, going over to my father. I knew how much his boyfriend meant to him and gave him a hug. "I'm sure Renji-kun will come back asking for you soon." I told him softly. I felt my father hug my back tightly, and tears drip down from his face. "I miss him...Makoto-chwan." He whispered. Yuzuki and Takara, both hugged Otou-san tightly as well. "We know otou-san, we know. Renji-kun will take you back, just you wait." They whispered.

That night the four of us spent out time our time together on the couch, eventually falling asleep. When we woke up the next morning, Daichi-otou-san was already up, showered, dressed like a woman, and was making breakfast. I looked over at my sisters and chuckled at them lightly. "Hey, come on two, get up, tou-san's making breakfast." I said, nudging them with my foot. They grumbled at me as I got off the couch and walked to my room, grabbing my clothes and walked into the bathroom, showered, dressed and walked back out. Getting tired of their laziness, I tossed them off the couch, quickly making my way over to the table, where otou-san was laughing.

Walking over to him, I kissed his cheek in greeting and started the kettle for tea. "How are you feeling Daichi-otou-san?" I asked curiously as I started setting the table for everyone. "It was good Makoto-chan. I miss sleeping with you three in the house." He said with a heavy sigh. "Are you sure you won't come with me?" he asked, pouting at me. I shook my head with a smile. "No tou-san, I'm quite happy here." I told him as my sisters showered and dressed. He pouted at me, and sighed once more. "Oh, alright Mako-chwan." He said defeated. "But just for that, I'm picking you and the girls after right after school to-" I cut him off with my hand. "I can't tou-san, I have club duties after school, I have Kendo club today." I told him with a smile.

He started tearing up and hugged me tighter than before. "Oh Mako-chwan! You're such a good girl, you make daddy so proud!" he squealed, rubbing his cheek against mine again. "Daichi-otou-san... let go, didn't you say that you had a planned date this morning with Ranka-kun?" I said, desperately wanting him to let me go so I could eat. At once I was dropped as otou-san gasped loudly. "Oh! How could I forget! Ranka-chan and I were going to go shopping today!" he said as he quickly finished making breakfast.

I chuckled as I started grabbing the already made food and placing it on the table. I loved Daichi-otou-san, I doubt I could have a better father in my life. The only problem was that he was a lot like Tamaki. 'But so is Ranka-kun too, I guess that's one reason why they get along so well.' I thought amused. Sighing mentally to myself, I watched as my sisters trudged over to the table sitting down as they greeted our father sluggishly. Chuckling, he brought over the last of the food, sitting down beside me.

We ate in silence, each lost in our own thoughts, when finished, I took my dishes into the kitchen and started washing them and put them away. Takara and Yuzuki were still eating and yawning as I went to my room, finishing up my homework quickly before packing it away in my bag. "Come on Pinky, Hippy, we have to go." I told them as I walked into the living room. Daichi-otou-san was cleaning the left over dishes as my sisters groaned as they scrambled to get their stuff ready. "Mako-nee! Wait for us!" they whined, causing our father to laugh.

"Now, now, Mako-chwan, no need to hurry so much." Daichi-otou-san said, making me roll my eyes. "Tou-san, you don't know the club I'm with." I muttered with a sigh, running a hand through my hair a bit. My sisters soon got their stuff together and met me at the door. "I'll have to meet them some time." He said with a grin, this made me flush a bit. "Not a chance tou-san." I stated as I put my shoes on. "Bye Otou-san!" my sisters chorused as we left the apartment building.

I let out a sigh, running a hand through my hair again. "Let's leave what happened at home at home." I told my sisters as they just nodded with grins on their faces as they ran over to Haruhi happily. They glomped her, making her stumble and grumble about having too much energy in the morning. I shook my head at my sisters and walked over to the three girls. "Come on now, don't torture Haruhi so early in the morning, that's the twin's job." I told them. This caused them to puff their cheeks out and pout.

"No fair! Why do those barbaric monsters get to bug Haruhi and we don't?" Takara whined, clinging onto Haruhi. Yuzuki pouted as well, but didn't cling like her sister. "Because they don't have an older sister to take care of them." I told them with a slight roll of my eyes. Pouting some more, they walked closely beside Haruhi, who hadn't said anything yet, and just sighed. I frowned at the younger girl, watching her as she walked with my sisters.

'She must be bummed about today.' I thought, sighing through my nose. I wasn't too thrilled either mind you. I wasn't sure what the club was actually going to plan to hide Haruhi and mine genders. 'It will probably involve someone dressing up as us...' I thought, slightly shaking my head a bit. "Makoto-sempai?" My head shot up as I looked towards Haruhi, blinking my eyes slowly, bringing them back into focus. "Hai Haruhi?" I asked wondering what she wanted. "Do you think the club will do something unnecessary?" she asked. I just smirked a little at that, which made her groan, already knowing the answer.

"Don't worry Haru-chan, I'm sure Kyoya-san will have something planned on the side while Tamaki-san and the twins plan something embarrassing." I told her, which seemed to calm her a little. She then mumbled something under her breath that I didn't catch. Soon we made it to school and went our separate ways. I was starring at the ceiling when I saw something out of the corner of my eye, turning slightly, I caught Mitsukuni as he jumped towards me.

"Ohayo Makoto!" he said with a big smile on his face. "I chuckled softly as I placed him on my shoulders, like Takashi usually does. "Ohayo Mitsukuni. How was cake hunting yesterday?" I asked as I started walking again. I looked around, wondering where Takashi was since he usually wasn't too far behind from Mitsukuni.

"It was great! We found lots of different cakes and sweets!" He gushed, making me chuckled. "I'm glad you had a good time Mitsukuni." I said gently. "But..." He started and paused a bit, and I could tell he was thinking on how to approach something. "But what Mitsukuni?" I asked as I looked up at him. "But Takashi seemed distracted while we were looking at cakes. Will you come with us today when we go buy some?" he asked me hopefully as we came to our classroom. I paused a bit and nodded my head slightly. "Okay Mitsukuni, I'll come with you and Takashi." I told him, making him smile brightly.

I placed Mitsukuni onto his feet when we entered the classroom. I looked around and still didn't see Takashi, making me frown a bit. "Where's Takashi?" I asked Mitsukuni, who smiled at me. "He's here, he just had to do something before class starts!" he said he said reassuringly, patting my arm a bit as we went to our seats.

As I sat down, I reached into my pocket, pulling out the dragon pendant that Takashi had handed to me weeks before. I had found a silver chain to put it on, but still didn't know what to actually do with it. Sighing to myself, I stuffed the charm back into my pocket, taking out my notebooks for the class. Deciding to concentrate on everything that was happening now instead of the past and future, I looked out of the window, hearing the sounds of our classmates coming into the room as the day finally began.

The day passed by slowly as class came and went, it was after school now, and I was walking by myself slowly up to the club room. Mitsukuni and Takashi had left before me as I put my stuff away. I paused by the window and sneezed a bit, taking out a tissue from my pocket and blew my nose. I could tell that I was starting to get a cold, but just put it behind me, I would deal with it when I got home.

Opening the door to the third music room, I had to blink a bit at the scene before me. Tamaki had Haruhi by her shoulders, a panic look in his eyes as he spoke about saving Haruhi's gender secret. "Ano... am I missing something here?" I asked tilting my head in confusion. Tamaki turned his sights on me then and rushed over, doing the same thing to me, and shook my shoulders. This action caused me to start getting a headache. "Tama-kun..." I said quietly, but he kept rambling on, not listening. "Tamaki stop." I said a bit more forcefully as I put a hand on my head and closed my eyes. He still didn't hear me, making me mentally groan. "Tamaki-" "Tamaki stop. You're making Makoto ill." Takashi interrupted me, causing Tamaki to stop shaking me and step back.

"Now that you mention it Mori-sempai, Ryuu-sempai is looking a bit pale." He said quietly, then realized what he did and went to glomp me, tears in his eye. "Oba-chan! I'm sorry! I didn't mean-" I held my hand up to stop him. "Tamaki, please, just stop alright? Look, I'm going to head home early. Gomen Mitsukuni, maybe another day we'll go out and get cakes." I said and bowed to them. I then turned around leaving through the door, heading home, planning on getting some more rest.

Once I got home, I dumped by school back in my room and changed into some comfortable clothes. I didn't notice that Daichi-otou-san was home until I almost bumped into him while he brought me some tea. "Maa, take it easy Makoto-chan, here, drink some tea." He said, gently placing the cup into my hands. I smiled gently at him and kissed his cheek. "Arigato otou-san." I said softly, sipping the tea. "You're welcome, now go back into your room and take a nap." He said, kissing my forehead and lightly pushed me back into my room, closing the door behind him. I smiled and walked over to my bed, sitting down on it, and sipped my tea before placing it on my side table, making myself comfortable laying down and pulled the blankets over myself, falling easily asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

It has been at least three weeks since I had gotten sick and had recovered. I missed out on the physical examinations, but it seemed that it wasn't much of a problem. In the time that I was sick, I easily caught up on my school work, and spent the first day back, catching up on the tests that I had missed. On one day in particular, I had to skip host duties in order to finish up a project that been assigned. To say the least, my debt to the club rose. But I suppose on a plus side, when I returned to club duties, those who designated me, gave me gifts, saying that they missed me, and was glad I was feeling better.

Daichi-otou-san went home after a week, when his boyfriend called him and apologised. The two of them talked for three hours before he went home. Daichi-otou-san had always been bisexual, but he was determined to become straight when he met Yuki-kaa-san. But after the divorce, he reverted back to bisexuality and found a boyfriend that he loved. Renji-kun was a nice guy, I enjoyed talking about the traditional life that Japan use to have back in the feudal era.

We were doing a Japanese theme for the club, I was wearing a dark purple kimono with a burgundy sash around my waist, wearing traditional sandals, and an apron, I was serving drinks to the guests. Traditional teas and cakes were being distributed as I walked to the tables. Tamaki was wearing traditional 'Lord' wears, while Kyoya was wearing clothes those of a scripter. Haruhi was wearing noble wear along with Mitsukuni, while Takashi and the twins wore peasant like clothing.

I walked passed Haruhi and Kyoya's table, hearing them talk about her flow of designations as I placed the tea and cakes down as the new guests arrived. "Ryuu-sempai, you have some designations coming." He said, making me nod. "Hai, Kyo-kun." I said to him, and almost walked into Mitsukuni, who looked ready to cry.

"Mako-chan, Haru-chan!" Mitsukuni whimpered, making us look at him. "Mitsukuni? What's a matter?" I asked as I knelt down before him. He sniffed a bit, holding onto one of his sandals. "I lost one of my sandals." He said, sniffing again. Before we could say anything, Takashi came over and lifted his cousin's foot up, slipping on his sandal. "You dropped it over there." He said quietly. Mitsukuni looked at Takashi before throwing himself at his cousin. I smiled softly at his, and gently ruffled Mitsukuni's hair. "Ah, you should be more careful Mitsukuni, we wouldn't want you to lose anything else yea?" I said softly.

The girls who were watching awed at the site as Mitsukuni hugged me as well. "Hai Mako-chan!" he said with a bright smile. Takashi looked over at us and smiled gently ruffling my hair as I looked back at him. I saw his eyes widen a little at the sight of the purple dragon around my neck. I had put it on when I got sick and hadn't dared to take it off yet. The chain I placed it on hung loosely around my neck, almost like a chocker, hanging just slightly below my throat. He smiled a little at me, his eyes softening a bit as he picked Mitsukuni up. I smiled at the two as they went back to their spot, with me making my way to the kitchen where I made tea and brought cakes along, going to my table.

"Ah Ryuu-kun!" my guests said happily as I walked over to them with a smile. "Gomen for keeping you waiting. Mitsukuni lost his sandal earlier." I told them as I sat down, distributing the cakes and teas. "It's alright Ryuu-kun! We're just glad Hunny-kun found his slipper." They said, making me smile. "Un, I'm glad as well, he's lucky to have such a caring cousin." The ladies nodded their heads, blushing at the kind look on my face. We then started talking about what they did that day and how they were.

Our attention was taken away when Tamaki started making a scene, as he gave Haruhi Japanese sweets. I laughed softly as I excused myself, walking over to my fellow cross dresser and took one of the sweets. I had a little weakness to sweets, especially those that were traditional. "Haru-kun, you're so lucky to get these." I said with a smile. "I'm sure your kaa-san will be very pleased." Haruhi looked up at me and smiled back. "Un, that what I thought. I'm sure your tou-san would like some as well." She said. "Un, no doubt that he would." I laughed softly.

Tamaki started up again, and I left Haruhi to deal with him herself, since she was so good at it and went over to Takashi and Mitsukuni. "Does Mako-chan like sweets too?" Mitsukuni asked curiously from Takashi's arms. "Hai, I enjoy traditional sweets more than the sweets we have now." I said with a smile. This seemed to brighten Mitsukuni up and whispered into Takashi's ear a bit. My focus from the two cousin's drifted, sensing another pair of eyes on us. Looking over, I saw a girl with long brown hair that was held up with a pink bow, and wearing the schools uniform. 'Is she a new student?' I thought tilting my head a bit.

Before she could say anything, the twins were already in front of her, trying to put the charm on her, not letting her speak. I just sighed, already knowing this would turn into a disaster as Tamaki got involved. He turned up his 'Prince charm' on her, only to have her push him away, calling him a fake in the process.

The girl then pointed at Tamaki, her eyes wide in horror as she walked towards us. "I won't believe that you are the prince of this club!" she said. "A prince character does not spread his love so easily!" I let out a sigh, shaking my head a bit as the girl continued to bash Tamaki. 'Harsh much?' I couldn't help but think watching as Tamaki slowly started to disintegrate in front of us. It was then that Kyoya who recognized her. The girl then proceeded to run towards Kyoya, stepping on Tamaki the process and hugged the shadow king, surprising him and all of us as well.

We closed the Host club after that and everyone was changed into their uniforms, as the girl introduced herself to us. "My name is Houshakuji Renge. I shall be transferring into Class 1-A starting tomorrow." She said as we stood around opposite from her, Tamaki, back in his corner of woe. "See he's mad. Kaa-san left out that he had a fiancée." The twins said. Renge then popped up, claiming that it was a 'love at first sight experience' making me roll my eyes at her.

She then began explaining how 'Kyoya' was so kind, showing affection to flowers, and that he was kind to wounded kittens etc. This made the rest of the club wonder what Renge was on. I couldn't help but snort a little at this, making her turn to me angrily. "That 'Kyoya' as you put it sounds like a game." I said. This she confirmed by saying the name of the game: Ukidoki Memorial. This got the club to panic, for Renge was an otaku, and from what I could tell, a big one at that. 'Oh boy... this can only mean one thing.' I thought with a sigh.

Kyoya sat down on the sofa, his chin in his hand as he thought about it. "I see." He said closing his eyes, then explained how Renge's fantasy was getting the best of her, making her think that he was her 'fiancée'.

Soon everyone was gathered around. Renge was sitting beside Kyoya, the twins sitting across from them with me leaning in between them while Tamaki, Haruhi, Mitsukuni and Takashi stood behind Kyoya and Renge. "According to my report, Kyoya-sama, you manage every aspect of this club, right?" she asked eagerly. Mitsukuni confirmed it, making Renge even more excited. "Then I have decided, I shall become the manager of this host club!" she declared. "Really Renge-chan, we don't need a manager." I said with a sigh.

Tamaki seemed to share my distress in this and leaned over to Kyoya to see if it could be changed, but Kyoya said that Renge was a daughter of a business partner to his family. So anything we tried, would become invalid. Renge then smiled at us, saying that it would be nice to work with us.

Soon we were able to leave, I left with Takashi and Mitsukuni since I promised I would go cake hunting with them. We got into their limo Mitsukuni sitting across from Takashi and I, smiling happily at us. "Neh, neh, Makoto?" Mitsukuni asked as we drove down the street. "Hai Mitsukuni?" I asked tilting my head towards him. "What do you think Renge-chan will do to the club?" he asked, pouting slightly.

I leaned back against the seats of the limo, thinking about it. "Hmm, I'm not sure. Kyo-Kyo said that we had to put up with her for a little while." I said with a slight shrug. He nodded his head and we fell silent until the limo stopped in front of the cake store. Mitsukuni ran out of the limo with a cheer, as Takashi and I followed suit. We walked into the bakery watching as Mitsukuni picked out the cake. Takashi and I walked behind, looking at the quaint little shop.

"Makoto! Makoto!" Mitsukuni said as he hopped over to me, and pulled me over to the cake selection. I looked over at Takashi who was smiling a little at that. "Look at all of the cakes!" Mitsukuni said and I looked at them all. "Un, there's a lot of them yea?" I said with a chuckle. He nodded then proceeded place an order. I was still looking at the cakes when I felt someone behind me, lean over. "What cake do you want?" a deep voice penetrated my ears. I looked up at Takashi, seeing him look back at me with a slightly tilted head.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the cake shop, watching Mitsukuni eat his cake while I had some tea. I wasn't surprised anymore with the amount of sugar he ate, but the looks on the bakers faces were priceless. 'I guess they've never seen anyone each so much cake before.' I mused chuckling slightly. Soon we parted ways, with me promising Mitsukuni and Takashi that I would be alright getting home by myself. With a final wave, I watched as my friends head back to their homes as I made my way back to mine. Once there, I let out a bit of a sigh, changing into my pyjamas and started making supper. My sisters were in their room doing homework and chatting to friends over the phone until I called them out for supper.

Throughout the next day, I almost forgot that we had a manager for the club. Currently we were sitting around one of the tables having tea. Haruhi and I were sittin across from Takashi and Mitsukuni, the four of us on chairs while Tamaki, Kyoya and the twins were sitting on the couches. Tamaki was telling us about what he thought about having Renge as the manager. He liked the idea of Renge transferring into Haruhi's class, so that she would be subjected to becoming more feminine. "If she can make female friends..." Tamaki said.

"Why is it that I feel offended by that?" I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. Hikaru leaned over to me with a smirk. "Well Ryuu-sempai, you're not exactly feminine..." he said then Kaoru pitched in. "And Tono wants Haruhi to be like all of the females here, which you're not helping with." I shot the two a look, making them grin as they leaned back against the couch as I tuned Tamaki back in. 'Well that's just sexist...' I thought pouting slightly. I didn't notice that Takashi had been watching the interactions between me and the twins, and was looking at the pout currently placed on my face.

Renge opened the door with a smile on her face. "Everyone." She greeted as she walked into the club. "Renge, the host club mascot girl, has baked some cookies for you!" she said cheerfully. I let out a sigh as Tamaki was the first one to take action, which turned into him going back into his corner of woe. Renge quickly went to Kyoya, saying that they got a little burnt, making me sigh a bit. 'That's not a good thing...' I thought watching as Mitsukuni took a cookie and ate some of it, his eyes dilating a bit at the taste.

Takashi and I went over to him right away, in fear for his health. "Mitsukuni, stop." We said. "It's bad for your body." It was then I knew we were in trouble. Looking at each other, Takashi picked up his cousin, and I picked up his bunny as we ran away from Renge, who wasn't pleased with us. She soon stopped chasing us after Tamaki started having another episode about Haruhi. Sighing in relief, I grabbed a glass of water and handed it to Mitsukuni as Takashi set him down. "Now Mitsukuni, never take anything that's burnt, even if it's sweets." I said, lightly scolding him. "Gomen Makoto!" he said as he drank the water to get the taste away.

Mitsukuni decided to make amends with Renge while Takashi and I walked over to the group. Renge startled the younger cousin, and he came running over to us, looking behind our legs as Renge yelled that we weren't good enough. This made everyone freeze in place and look at her, quizzedly. Pointing at us, she said that besides Kyoya, all of us weren't good enough, that we didn't have any 'shadowy' side. She then began listing what females like, and that if we didn't have 'New characters' that the girls would get bored of us.

She then pointed at Mitsukuni who was now in Takashi's arms and pouted at Renge. "If your inside and outside are nothing but cute, then you're no different from a child!" she accused. "Therefore, although you have a cute face, you're actually a vicious fiend inside!" she declared, making Mitsukuni almost tremble a bit. "Morinozuka-sempai, you're an underling of your childhood friend!" she said pointing at Takashi. "Ryuunosuke-sempai, you're a shy person who willingly gets hurt to make sure someone is protected." She declared, making my eye twitch a bit.

Pointing to the twins, she declared that they were basketball players that close themselves off in their own world, and that Haruhi was a brilliant student, but also a victim of fierce bullying, and that Tamaki was the academy's idol with a serious complex, the lonely prince. This seemed to spark something inside of Tamaki, because his started to over react, again. I was standing with Mitsukuni, trying to calm his down, as the twins tried to talk Kyoya out of this. Sadly, Tamaki was all for this thing, making me sigh a bit.

"Neh, cheer up Mitsukuni, after we're done today, I promise to take you out for some cake." I said, running a hand through his hair a bit. He sniffed and looked up at me, "Really Makoto?" he asked, wiping his eyes a bit. "Hai Mitsukuni, really." I said with a smile. He beamed at this, and jumped out of Takashi's arms, spinning around the room. I chuckled softly, along with Takashi, who smiled a bit, at his cousin. He then looked over at me, our eyes meeting. "Arigato Makoto." He said softly, making me shake my head. "Iie, it was my pleasure Takashi." I said, feeling my face heat up a little.

Renge soon went on about making a film and that we would be starting the next day, much to everyone's relief. Looking over at Kyoya, I could just tell that he was going to make a profit over this. 'It's just like him it seems.' I thought with a sigh. Soon we all left our separate ways, with me going with Takashi and Mitsukuni again. I gave directions to a nice cafe to their driver and we were on our way. I closed my eyes a bit, each of us lost in our own thoughts. My fingers gently hooked themselves around the pendent around my neck, gently tracing the dragon from head to tail. 'I hope tomorrow won't end up in too much of a disaster...' I thought.


	12. Chapter 12

I was standing next to Haruhi, sighing a bit as we watched the film crew work their 'magic'. "Maa... I can't believe rich folk..." I said, knowing Haruhi was feeling the same way. Haruhi and I looked at each other as the twins did their basketball scene, with Tamaki's 'Lonely Prince' scene playing right afterwards. I had to say, despite that I'd rather have my tonsils pulled out than take part in this film, Renge wasn't that bad of a director. Our scene was the last one to be done, with me 'protecting' Haruhi from Mitsukuni and Takashi. Running a hand through my hair, I walked over to the two cousins who were standing off to the side.

"Neh, how are you holding up Mitsukuni?" I asked, tilting my head a bit. I knew that he didn't like the fact that he had to be mean to his friends. Turning to me, I had to take an involuntary step back at the faces I was looking at. 'They really don't look like themselves...' I thought as they continued to look at me. I raised an eyebrow at them and tilted my head a bit. "Ano... Mitsukuni? Takashi?" I asked. They didn't answer me, just continuing their staring. 'Okay... maybe I'll leave them alone?' I thought unsurely.

"Kyaa! The tension of a friendship! One boy breaking apart a family bond that goes beyond blood!" Renge suddenly said, making me jump, and spin around. I seem to be having a stroke of misfortune with my balance, for when I turned around, I slipped on the rocks under my feet. I didn't expect to be saved, and I wasn't, as I landed on the rocks with a wince. I tried to soften to blow with my hands, and in doing so, caused me to cut my hand on one of the rocks.

"Ano... Renge-chan..." I said as I got up, clenching my one hand to stop the blood flow. I looked at the girl, who was too busy to go on and on about the ties of friendship that I just shook my head and sighed. I turned to my classmates and with an apologetic smile, bowed to them. "Gomen for disturbing you two." I told them and walked away.

Soon it was our scene it was 'raining' out as Haruhi ran through the woods trying to get away from Takashi and Mitsukuni. I was running towards Haruhi, causing the two of us to bump into each other. "Haru-kun, are you alright?" I asked. But before she could answer, we heard Mitsukuni. "You can't run any longer." He said making us turn around. He had that same look in his eyes as before as I put Haruhi behind me. "S-stop this Mitsu-" I was cut off. "Get out of my way Makoto!" he snapped. "Iie! I won't let you hurt him!" I cut him off.

This angered him as he snapped his fingers. "Then you'll pay for interfering Makoto. Takashi!" he said. Takashi looked at his cousin. "Stop it Mitsukuni. You're only hurting yourself more every time you hurt others." He said. "Don't tell me what to do Takashi, now make him pay." Mitsukuni said. I felt Haruhi grab onto my soaked blazer as Takashi walked forward, and grabbed me by the cuff of my blazer, lifting me off the ground. "Gomen." He said to me quietly as he tossed me to the side. "Makoto!" Haruhi yelled as I landed on the ground. I was thankful I knew how to land properly so I didn't get hurt, but my hand opened up again as I looked over at my friend. "I'm alright Haru-kun." I said.

Mitsukuni then looked up at us, a small smirk playing on his lips. "I really despise people who don't know their place." He said. There was a long pause as my classmate reverted back to his regular self, making me relax. He started crying as he threw himself at Haruhi, apologizing. I sat up with a sigh. Takashi came over to me and before I could hide my hand, he took it into his large one gently, frowning at the sight of the blood that was oozing from the wound.

"Gomen Makoto..." he said quietly as he helped me up. I smiled at him, glad that nothing was really wrong with them. "Iie, it's alright Takashi, it's just a scratch." I said softly. He shook his head at that. "Iie. Gomen for making you worry and not catching you when you fell. As well as for throwing hard like that." He said quietly. I smiled at him, knowing that he wouldn't let up unless I forgave him. "Takashi, I forgive you for that. You were trying to stay in character. You're really a kind man." I said softly, feeling my cheeks become warm a bit. He smiled at that and nodded his head. "Arigato."

Mitsukuni then launched himself at me, apologizing as well as Renge told everyone to stop what they were doing. I patted Mitsukuni's head lightly with my good hand as the four of us left the stage. "Mitsukuni, you acted really well." I told him with a smile. He looked up at me and sniffed a bit. "But... Mako-chan! I got you hurt!" he cried again. "Iie, I know how to land properly when being thrown, so I didn't get hurt." I said, cheering him up a bit. Takashi then tapped my shoulder and pointed to my bleeding hand and I nodded a bit. "Neh, Mitsukuni, I'll be right back okay?" I said. "Don't be sad, you didn't do anything wrong." I told him, ruffling his hair as Takashi took me inside to get a bandage.

We walked in silence as I looked down at my hand, clenching it into a fist to help stop the bleeding. "Does it hurt?" he asked softly as I looked up at him and shook my head. "Iie, it doesn't." I said. We were silent once more and walked into the third music room where there was a first aid kit there. Without saying anything, and surprising me, Takashi picked me up, setting me onto the counter in the kitchen and opened up the kit. He then took my hand without saying anything and started to clean it. I winced a bit, and tried to pull my hand away, but he kept his grip firm as he kept cleaning it.

I watched him a bit with a tilted head. His eyes were focused on my cut, never wavering and never straying until he knew it was clean. It was then that I noticed how warm his hand was, and that it was dulling the pain. After throwing the cloth away, he went back to the kit and pulled out some disinfectant, and put it on before placing gauze on top of the cut and wrapped my hand in a bandage, taping it up. The whole time, he had been very gentle, trying to make it as painless as possible for me. When he was done, he looked at me gently placing my hand back on my lap as he put the kit away.

"Arigato Takashi." I said softly, smiling up at him. He smiled smally back at me and nodded his head. I slid off the counter and before I could do anything else, Takashi wiped my bangs away from my face, causing the water that was still on them, to run down his hand. "Next time you get hurt... let me know." He said softly and walked out of the kitchen. I noticed that his eyes were downcast, almost as if he blamed himself for making me get hurt. I watched him disappear and brought my hand up to my chest, letting out a quiet sigh. "Hai Taka-kun..." I whispered, my face softening a bit as I left the kitchen, making it outside just as Kyoya smash the lens of the camera.

I let out a bit of a sigh of relief glad that everything was now over. I looked over at the twins and my classmates, smiling at them. "I think that's what they would call a wrap neh?" I said, causing them to laugh, as I joined in. I looked over at Takashi, who smiled a bit at me, and nodded his head. I smiled back him, and continued to laugh.

About a week after the movie incident, Renge moved back home to France and things returned back to normal, until our guests started talking about the movie. I had to sigh as I leaned back against the chair I was sitting on, running a hand through my hair as everyone looked over at Kyoya.

"Film? Don't tell me Kyo-Kyo..." I sighed as he told us that he got hold of the tape and cut out the violence in it, except the part of where I was thrown, since that wasn't very violent. He sold copies to everyone, making a mediocre amount of money in it. I ran a hand through my hair, sighing more at that and closed my eyes. "Great... just great..." I mumbled. I felt someone look at me, making me tilt my head back. I ended up looking at Takashi, who raised an eyebrow at me. I smiled at him and nodded my head, my hand was pretty much healed now, thankfully, and I resumed Kendo that day after taking time off to heal. He nodded his head back and turned back to Mitsukuni, who had tugged on his blazer a bit.

"Good day everyone." A familiar voice said, making all of turn and saw Renge. "I thought you went back to France." Tamaki said with raised eyebrow. Renge smiled as she started talking about someone who scolded and protected her. Roses started coming up around her as she gabbed Haruhi's hand. "This is what it means to look at someone and fall in love with him, right, Haruhi-kun?" she said. This made me start to laugh, as Tamaki started a tantrum, not liking that someone else had taking his Haruhi.

"Neh Mako-chan?" Mitsukuni asked as he plopped himself on my lap. "Hai Mitsukuni?" I asked as he played with Usa-chan. "Do you think Tama-chan and Haru-chan will ever see past what they see?" he asked, making me chuckle. "Hmm, iie, not right now, maybe later on once they've gotten use to each other." I said with a slight shrug. He then hopped off my lap smiling brightly at that. "Okay Makoto!" he said happily and skipped off to who knows where.

I stood up and shook my head a bit, watching as Haruhi was dragged out of the club room with Tamaki behind them, whining at Renge not to take Haruhi away. "Well, things will certainly become entertaining." I mused, laughing softly.

A few days passed and the girls were now over the fact that we had a movie and such. Everything was back to normal, for now at least, and I knew that the calm wouldn't last very long, it never seemed to around here. It was during club time, that it started, I was with some if my clients, when I spotted the twins playing their game, where their guests had to decide which one was which. It really wasn't that hard to figure out though if you paid attention, but I suppose it doesn't count if you're rich.

"Neh, Ryuu-kun, what will your sisters do after you've graduated?" one of my customers asked, I turned to them with a smile, chuckling slightly. "They will probably cause trouble. They enjoy experiments, and since I'm here they can't do any." I replied, my eyes softening at the memories of what my sisters did. My clients leaned forward in their seats, wondering what I was thinking about, how I knew this was because I could feel them. "I hope, when I'm gone, that you'll be able to forgive my sisters for any trouble that they cause you." I said as I looked back at them, with a smile.

They flushed and nodded their head vigorously. "Of course Ryuu-kun!" they said eagerly, making me smile. "Arigato, that means a lot." I said, making one of the girls faint by accident. "Are you okay?" I asked, only to be interrupted by the sounds of fighting. Drawing my gaze away from my clients, I walked over to Mitsukuni and Takashi looking at them with a tilted head. "Ano... what's going on?" I asked, hoping that they would fill me in. "Ah, Hika-chan and Kao-chan maintain the clubs website!" Mitsukuni said, making me tilt my head a bit. "We have a website?" I asked curiously, blinking at the new. "Un!" he said happily.

"Kyaa! Ryuu-sempai is gorgeous!" the squeals made me blink as I walked over to the girls, looking over their shoulders, only to see, my head shopped on another person's body. I groaned at this and shot the twins a look as I walked over to them. "You shopped me in there too?" I asked, making them grin. "Of course Ryuu-sempai, it wouldn't be fun if we only did it to Haruhi." They said, both of the grinning at me now. I ran a hand through my hair and bonked my fists against their heads. "Next time ask for permission." I told them blandly, making them roll their eyes. "Hai, hai Ryuu-sempai." They said, rubbing their heads.

I walked away from them, going back to my clients as Haruhi snapped out of her daze. Not that I blamed her really, but it was annoying to be shopped without being asked. The twins were teasing Haruhi, about her being their toy, but I knew better than that, and smiled a bit. My sisters soon came into the club, no one fazed by this anymore since they came every so often, and attached themselves to me, as they started talking about something.

I was listening them with a half ear, since I already heard about it at lunch. Before my sisters could say anymore, we heard a voice. "Toy! Toy... Toy. If you like toys, then come to my club. The Black Magic Club." I looked over at the door and shook my head a bit, seeing my other classmate holding a candle stick. I walked over to them, with my sisters still attached to me looking at the male. "The world black magic item market... is now being held."

"We also have a Mass going on all the time. Come now... and everyone will get a lovely voodoo doll, Beelzenef, as a present." He said, holding up his cat puppet. I glanced over at Tamaki, who looked terrified at the voice, and chuckled softly. "Maa, maa, Nekozawa-san, no need to go scarring everyone." I said. He chuckled darkly as he looked over at me. "Ah, Ryuunosuke-san, will you still not accept my offer for joining my club?" He asked, smiling at me.

I shook my head as I cupped my elbows in my hands. "Iie Nekozawa-san, you know as well as I do, that I can't." I said. "Hai, you are, after all, quite busy with your Kendo and Hosting..." he said and smiled creepily at that. My sister gripped my blazer as I smirked a little. "Hai." I said.

Haruhi blinked at my classmate as she faced him. "Why are you talking from that little opening?" she asked, and then the twins decided to asked a question as well. "And... was there a door over there before?" they asked. Kyoya soon walked over to us, writing in his book again, his eyes being covered by the glare from the light. Takara went over to Kyoya, and looked over his shoulder, curious to see what he was writing down as he spoke.

"Nekozawa-sempai doesn't like places that are bright." He explained. It was then that Tamaki came up behind Haruhi, telling her stay away from him. I shook my head at that, I knew for a fact that Nekozawa wasn't a bad person, just misjudged about the way he viewed things. I watched Tamaki as he startled Haruhi, telling her a story, to which I shook my head at. Kyoya felt the same way as he told Tamaki what really happened, though the blonde didn't believe him. Nekozawa decided to play with this, saying that the curse of Beelzenef was authentic. Before I could say anything, the twins shone light on my classmate, making him freak out and run into the door that he entered from, slamming it behind him.

"Maa, maa, Hikaru, Kaoru, that wasn't very nice." I scolded, making them shrug at me, walking over to the window and sat down, ignoring Tamaki's rant. "Oi! Haruhi!" they called, making her and I turn to them. "On our next holiday, can we visit your home?" they asked. I mentally sighed at that, and shook my head. "Iie, I wouldn't if I was you Haru-chan..." I whispered to her as I felt weight appear on my back. I quickly laced my arms under Mitsukuni so he didn't fall.

"Neh, neh Makoto!" he said excitedly making me look over at him. "Hai?" I asked looking over at Takashi who was standing behind me. "Can we visit your home too?" he asked excitedly. I sighed a bit and shook my head. "Iie, gomen Mitsukuni, but I don't think it could fit all of you." I said apologetically. "Demo... if you and Takashi would like to come over sometime, when we're not busy or anything, I'm sure my sisters would be fine with it..." I added, seeing his solemn face. I didn't like making my friends sad, but, I also didn't want anyone from the club, besides Haruhi to come to my place. It was small, just big enough to hold my sisters and I, and a guest, if we needed to.

This instantly cheered him up as he hugged me tightly around the neck. "Really Makoto?" he asked with bright eyes. I looked over at my sisters who looked at each other then shrugged. "I suppose, but it can't be for a while though Mako-nee." They said crossing their arms a bit. I rolled my eyes at my sisters and smiled at them. "Un, I know that imouto's. We have a bit of cleaning up to do after tou-san still." I sighed. Mitsukuni jumped off my back after hugging me tightly and proceeded to glomp my sisters, Takara squealed, and hugged Mitsukuni back as Yuzuki patted his head awkwardly.

Turning to Takashi, I smiled at him a little, with him smiling smally back at me, with a small nod. I turned back to Haruhi who had just cracked the twins game, making them speechless. "Maa, Haruhi, did you break the twins or something?" I asked walking over to her, resting my arm over her shoulder. "Mako-nee! Stop pestering Haru-kun!" Yuzuki scolded as she looked over at the twins.

"Ano... Kao-kun... Hika-kun?" she asked quietly, making me look at her. I looked over at Haruhi, who was talking to some of the clients, then back at the twins who were starring at her, then back at my sister, who looked dejected. "Maa, Yuzu-chan, they'll come around." I told her softly, startling her as she flushed. "Iie Mako-nee, I don't know what you're talking about..." she said as she straightened herself up and walked over to Takara, grabbing her hand. "See you at home Mako-nee!" she said with a wave, her fake smile giving away how she felt.

Before I could talk to the twins about it, I caught what Haruhi was saying. "If I had to say, Hikaru's action are one level meaner that Kaoru's." She said. I blinked a bit, and couldn't help but smirk at how observant she was. Kaoru then started laughing, as he apologised to his brother, who in turn, stated that he says stuff that he wanted to without hiding anything and that his brother was the more ill-natured one. I mentally groaned at that. Only guessing what would end up happening between the twins. 'So much for brotherly love.' I thought.

Kaoru stopped laughing and began talking back at Hikaru, stating that he actually liked Haruhi, which if anyone paid attention, could see. Tamaki didn't like this though, and butted in the middle of the twins fight. I walked over to Kyoya, who seemed unconcerned at the moment with the fighting and leaned against his table a bit. "Neh, Kyo-Kyo." I said, watching the Shadow King stiffen a bit, and sigh as he looked up at me. "Yes Ryuu-sempai?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. I knew he didn't like it when I called him that name, but it was the only real thing I could use to bug him. "How much do you want to bet that this fight is going to escalate into the twins wanting to visit Haru-chan's home?"

He pushed up his glassed, smiling that coy smile of his. "Almost an eighty percent chance that it will happen." He said, making me nod. I stared outside for a moment, thinking, and Kyoya took this time to write something else down in his notebook before he turned his attention back to me. "Ryuu-sempai, can I ask you something?" he asked making me look over at him with a tilted head. "Hai Kyo-Kyo, what is it?" I asked. Closing his notebook, Kyoya leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Could you keep an eye on Haruhi? You know her better than we do, and I wouldn't want anything else to happen to the club." He said.

Nodding my head, I agreed to do so, I had been planning on heading to the class 1-A the next day anyway to make sure everything was all right with my sisters. "Good, now, I think it would be a good time to close the club." He said as we walked over to the fighting twins, Kyoya, writing in his notebook again. The twins were yelling at each other as I ushered the girls out. "We're having a meeting, gomen." I said, as I shut the doors to the club, just in time to hear the twins say they were better than each other.

I sighed heavily at this and shook my head. "Maa... this is going to be such a hassle." I sighed, hanging my head a bit. I looked over at the other hosts, who were starring at the twins in disbelief. 'Yup...' So, troublesome..." I sighed. With that, we went our separate ways again. Takara and Yuzuki heard about the fight and asked me about it that night as we sat down for supper.

"Hmm, I guess you can say, it was how you two fought when I refused to take you two to the park." I told them with a chuckle. They smirked at each other then, and laughed. "I believe the hair colours were lime green and neon orange yes?" I teased them, making them flush. "Hai Mako-nee." They said as we laughed. Soon finishing my supper, I walked to the kitchen and started cleaning my dishes. "Oh, and I'll be coming into your class tomorrow to check up on Haruhi, and you two, that, and I want to see what colours the twins decided to die their hair." I added, with a teasing wink, making them laugh even harder.


	13. Chapter 13

The next day came too soon and I was walking with Mitsukuni and Takashi through the halls. I suddenly checked my pockets and frowned a bit as we reached our classroom. "Gomen, Takashi, Mitsukuni, I forgot something with my sisters this morning. I'll be right back." I said giving them an apologetic smile. Mitsukuni smiled at me. "We'll come too!" he said eagerly and I shook my head. "Iie, it's alright, I can manage myself." I said with a smile, and went to head off, books in hand. Takashi's hand stopped me though, when it appeared on my shoulder and I looked over at him with a tilted head.

"I'll hold your books." He said, making me shake my head. "Iie Takashi, I don't want to make you carry anymore than you are already." I said softly. He shook his head, and before I could protest, he took my book bag from my hand, holding it up, where I couldn't reach it. I pouted at him, and held my hand out for it. "Takashi!" I whined a bit, I could see the amusement in his eyes, as he shook his head. "Mitsukuni wants to check on Hikaru and Kaoru." He said, as the blonde jumped onto my back. "Demo... Takashi!" I said as he placed his hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair a bit. "Don't be late for class." Was all he said as he walked into the classroom, making me sigh heavily.

I didn't notice the smile on Mitsukuni's face at the way Takashi and I interacted as I walked down the hall to Class 1-A. Mitsukuni patted my head lightly, as he laughed a bit. "Mako-chan and Takashi are getting along well neh?" he said happily as I nodded my head a bit. "Ah..." I said uncertainly, coming closer to the class room. I walked inside with Mitsukuni, and had to pause at what I saw. Hikaru and Kaoru, did what I expected them to, they died their hair. Hikaru had flamingo pink hair while Kaoru had neon blue hair. My sisters came up to us as I tried to bite back a laugh, but it was hard to.

"Pink? And blue? Geez how elementary." I chuckled, and grinned at my sisters. Takara pouted at me, crossing her arms over her chest. "Pink isn't a bad colour Mako-nee." She said and I ruffled her hair. "Hai, hai, I know Taka-chan. But you two picked better colours than they did." I teased them lightly. "You forgot to take your lunch money didn't you Mako-nee?" Yuzu said with a sigh, shaking her head at me. I didn't notice Mitsukuni get off my back, or that the twins were throwing stuff at each other until I had gotten my money. I looked around for my classmate and saw him getting thrown.

Panicking, I ran over to Mitsukuni and caught him. "Mitsukuni, that's dangerous to do!" I said, suddenly feeling myself getting picked up and thrown. "Oi! Watch out for people you bakas!" I snapped, landing on my feet easily with Mitsukuni in my arms. I looked over at Haruhi, who looked like she rather be anywhere else but there. "Gomen Haru-kun, but we really need to be getting to class..." I said with an apologetic smile as Mitsukuni and I left. "But Mako-chan... They got a hold of Usa-chan..." he said, hugging his bunny tightly. "Ah, but still Mitsukuni, I don't want you to get in between the twins when they fight like that, you could have gotten seriously hurt." I said with a slight shake of my head.

"Gomen Mako-chan." He said quietly. "Iie, I'm not mad Mitsukuni, I was worried. And Takashi wouldn't be happy if I let you get hurt." I told him softly. "You like Takashi huh Mako-chan?" he said, perking up a bit. "Hai, Takashi is a really great guy once you get to know him." I said, looking over at him and saw his big smile. We got back to class in time, with Mitsukuni waving to Takashi as we entered, and quickly took our seats. During the lesson, Takashi looked over at me with a slightly tilted head, and I smiled a little, shaking my head a bit at him.

Lunch came with me staying behind of my friends, I needed to finish copying some notes down, and told Mitsukuni and Takashi to go on ahead without me. When they were gone, I took out my small notepad/sketch book and sketched a chibi Yuzuki, who stared at a blue headed chibi Kaoru. I knew that neon blue was her favourite colour, and the fact that one of the twins had died their hair that colour, became a bonus in her books. When I was done my sketch, I walked down to the cafeteria, only to witness, the twins fighting again, this time, throwing Takashi and Mitsukuni around as well.

Haruhi was walking towards me with a sigh, and I followed behind her, shaking my head. "You know Haruhi, they're only fighting to get your attention right?" I said leaning against the doorframe as she ate. She looked up at me blinking, as if surprised by my accusation. "I didn't do anything though Makoto. The twins are just being stupid and immature." She said in defence, making me shake my head at her. "It doesn't matter Haruhi. They're still trying to get your attention." I told her.

Walking down the hall after school, I was wondering how long Haruhi would last with the current situation and shook my head. 'Not long, she'll get fed up soon after everyone starts to blame her for what happened.' I thought with a slight sigh. I walked into the club room, full knowing that the club was closed for the time being. I looked over to the side, seeing the twins still fighting, throwing stuff at each other.

I walked over to the table that was set up, and took a seat next to Takashi, resting my arms and head on the table. "They're still at it?" I asked with sigh, and heard something move over to me. I looked up a bit, seeing a tea cup in front of my. I looked over at Takashi who looked over at me and nodded slightly. "Arigato." I said to him quietly as I sat up, taking the tea and sipping it a bit. I closed my eyes as Kyoya talked about having to stop selling brotherly love. Taking another sip of tea, I let out another sigh.

"So we're going to be in trouble if the twins continue being so immature then?" I said, opening my eyes a bit and looked over at Kyoya, who nodded his head. "Yes, designation rates will definitely be down." He then looked over at Haruhi, along with the rest of us. "Oh, you don't have to feel responsible for anything Haruhi, even if the reason for their fighting was because of your one thoughtless little comment." He said smiling at her.

I couldn't help but snort a bit, since that was pretty much what I was saying earlier. I caught Haurhi's eye and she rolled hers at me, making me smirk a bit. I could tell that Takashi was looking down at me, which made me look up at him with a raised eyebrow, which he returned. We then turned to Mitsukuni, who was playing with Usa-chan. "This is the first time that Hika-chan and Kao-chan have fought, right?" he said softly. Takashi nodded his head, confirming that, making me raise my eyebrow. "Really? That's strange. All siblings fight, it's something natural." I mused.

Haruhi seemed surprised at this as she too, turned to Mitsukuni, as he continued to talk, saying how he'd known them since kindergarten. Even though he didn't talk to them since they were in different grades, he always noticed that they always played by themselves. Tamaki had taken his head off the table and was now looking out the window, agreeing with Mitsukuni. "Yea, even though I've known them since middle school, they've always been pretty odd, as if they wouldn't let anyone get close to them, except themselves." He said.

He then closed his eyes and smiled a bit. "Their personalities were many times odder compared to now." He added. "So if you think about it this way, fighting might be a good direction for them." He said as the rest of us stared at him. He got a happy expression on his face as he opened his arms out. "Doesn't it mean that their world is getting wider now?" Closing his eyes and crossing his arms, he continued. "Right now, letting them be might be the best thing to do."

I shook my head a bit as I rested my arms back on the table, and looked at the tea cup in front of me. We were all silent for a bit, each in our own thoughts as the twins fought on the other side of the room. The sun was starting to set, and I knew that if nothing happened soon that day, then nothing would. Haruhi was looking out the window and started to speak. "But, if it's their first fight, doesn't that make it more important for someone to be there and tell them when to stop?" she asked as I turned my eyes to her. "Because... they probably don't even know how to make up to each other." She added.

We stayed at school, later than normal as the twins fought more and more. Soon there was a pile of stuff behind the twins as they glared at each other, standing about ten feel away from each other. I sighed a bit, standing beside Takashi and ran a hand through my hair. "Geez... did they take everything here?" I mumbled, keeping a close eye on Mitsukuni, who somehow wound up on top of the pile after trying to save Usa-chan again.

I wasn't too surprised when Tamaki started getting irritated, saying that after so much fighting that they still weren't satisfied and that they were troublesome. The twins then turned to him angrily. "Troublesome?" Hikaru snapped then looked away, saying that he was the trouble one having to share the identical face as Kaoru. I could tell that Haruhi was starting to get annoyed by this, not that I blamed her, but I could tell, from the look in the twin's eyes that they were enjoying this far too much. I had to admit though, they were amazing actors. I shook my head a bit as I walked over to the window sitting down on the ledge, looking out the window at the dimming sky.

Kaoru had pulled out a Beelzenef doll, saying that he was going to write his brother's name on the back of it. I had smirk at that as I turned back to the scene. Tamaki looked like he was going to pee himself in fear as he coward in the corner. I shook my head at this as I watched Haruhi, who was becoming irritated at the twins. She went over to them and cracked her fists over their heads, startling them. She then began to lecture them about causing trouble for everyone around them and that they'll never get to visit her home.

I sat up then and started gathering my stuff. "Maa, now that, that's settled, I'm going home before they start loving each other again." I said with a slight wave. I felt the eyes of Takashi, Mitsukuni and Kyoya on me as I walked through the doors, shutting them behind me as Haruhi let out a bit of a yell. "Yes, this is definitely going to be an amusing year." I said, chuckling again as I walked down the stairs and down the street with the setting sun.

The next few days went as usual at the club. Hikaru and Kaoru still had their hair died, but switched each day, pretending to be one another. "Neh, Ryuu-kun, isn't it great that Hikaru and Kaoru are getting along again?" Maya asked me as I turned my eyes away from the twins with a smile. "Hai, it is, but it would be better if they stopped pretending to be each other." I mused. Looking at my funny, I smiled over at the girl. "My sisters went through this same thing years back. They died their hair neon orange and lime green. Even after they made up, they still changed their hairstyles." I explained, making my customers nod a bit. "So does that mean that Ryuu-kun has known who was who all along?" Kira asked curiously and I nodded. "Hai, since day one." I replied to her and they went onto another topic.

About two weeks passed since the twins 'fight', being the first week of May. It was becoming warmer outside. Tamaki decided that would dress up in Egyptian wear that day, luckily, he was being smart and got Haruhi and I both something with shirts this time around. I was standing next to Kyoya, getting ready for the girls to come in. I stretched my arms out over my head, stifling a yawn I looked over at the door that started to open. As everyone else started saying welcome, I furrowed my brows a bit, starring at our customer.

"Did anyone order an elementary student?" I asked curiously, making everyone look at the kid. He was short, as expected with brown hair and dark blue eyes. I looked over at the others who looked about as confused as I did. Tamaki though, just smiled at the boy, asking him what was wrong. I rolled my eyes at this, having a feeling that things were about to go out of control again. The kid stared at us a bit before answering.

His eyes looked straight at Tamaki now, and I sighed as I turned to Kyoya. If anyone knew what this was going to be about, he would. "Kyo-Kyo?" I asked him, as he sighed, pushing his glasses up. "His name is Takaoji Shiro. As you guessed, he's in elementary school. But since he isn't of any real importance for being so young, I have nothing on him." I sighed at this and shook my head s the kid pointed to Tamaki, declaring that he was the 'King' of the club.

The whole club was silent at this declaration, each one of us knowing that Tamaki's ego just sky rocketed into oblivion. I ran a hand down my face, sighing heavily, closing my eyes. "And here is where everything will crash and burn..." I muttered. The twins heard me and nodded their heads agreeing with me. "Yup." they said, as Tamaki when on about how he was the king, sparkles flying around him. He then declared that he would take Shiro under his wing as an apprentice. With that, Tamaki declared to change back into our regular uniforms for the day.

Once that was done, our guests came in and we went our separate ways. I sat with my guests when I wasn't serving drinks and talked with them. They were all curious about why Shiro was with us, and I explained to them, that he had become an apprentice of Tamaki's. They swooned a bit, and asked me what I thought of this. I thought about it as I leaned back in my chair, taking a look around the club.

"I would have to say, that someone so young, doesn't need to learn how to impress ladies. They have all the time in the world currently before they need to worry about the more important aspects of life." I said softly as I turned back to the girls, who were staring at me in surprise and admiration. "I agree Ryuu-kun!" one of them said. "So do I, you're totally right!" another said, making me chuckle awkwardly.

I then excused myself as the ladies started packing up and walked over to Kyoya, I had to talk to him about something. Sticking my hands into my pockets I leaned against the pillar next to Kyoya as he wrote in his notebook. "Something you would like to say Ryuu-sempai?" he asked with an easy going fake smile. "Hai Kyo-Kyo, I'm leaving early from Club activities today, and I won't be here tomorrow either, you can add the time away to my debt." I told him as I looked up at the ceiling.

"I see, and is there a reason for this?" he asked, though, I knew he already had a guess. "Family business." I told him. "Very well, I see that your customers have gone home for the day, so I will let the others know if they ask." He told me, making me nod. "Arigato Kyo-Kyo." I said to him, and pushed myself off, heading to the change rooms to grab my book bag before I walked out, without anyone noticing.

I walked down the street until I passed a store that caught my interest. It was a traditional Japanese store, and out of curiosity, I walked inside, and immediately, my breath was taken away. The whole store looked like it came right out of the Edo period. I walked around amazed by the structure, crafts, and items that the store held. 'How come I didn't see this before?' I couldn't help but think as I started looking for something that caught my eye.

Something which happened sooner than I expected, I didn't know where the store keeper was as I walked around the store. I was looking through some old scrolls and books when I saw it. It was a old scroll, if I had to guess, about three hundred years old. But it was in good shape, it was fairly legible. As I read it, I was surprised to find that it was a diary, one about the ties of two families that I knew. Smiling at this, I rolled the scroll up, and went to the front, where I had seen a few other things that had caught my eye. The other thing that I had picked up was a traditional cookbook, which had some recipes that I had been wanting to try before.

I went up to the counter, still not seeing anyone there, until I turned around, looking back into the store, when I heard the sound of wooden sandals walk towards me. I turned around, and saw the person. They were dressed in traditional robes, and bowed to me. "Greetings, did you find everything you were looking for?" the person was female, their voice portrayed their age. I nodded my head, giving them a smile. "Yes, I have, how much do I owe you?" I asked as she rang the items in. She told me the price, and I paid her, then gently took the items and placed them into my bag.

I thanked her, and bowed before leaving the store, intending on heading home again. The reason I was looking for something was because, I was told by Satoshi that Takashi's birthday was coming up soon. Without asking, Satoshi told me what Takashi liked, and suggested a few things that his brother would like.

I sighed to myself, and ran a hand through my hair, Satoshi was quite persistent in making sure that I would get something for Takashi. 'If he's trying to cause something... I hope he won't go overboard with it...' I thought with a sigh.


	14. Chapter 14

The next few days went by as normal, I went to class with Takashi and Mitsukuni, then once the day was over, I left for home instead of the club, did some work around the house, answered letters from Daichi-otou-san, and worked on some new recipes. My sisters were already talking about what we would be doing for the summer holidays. It at the end of the week when I returned to the club, which was received well, as the twins had proceeded to glomp me as soon as I walked through the doors declaring how much they were bored, with Mitsukuni hanging off of my back mind you. As soon as he and Takashi learned that I was going back to the club that day, they made sure not to let me out of their sight.

I was caught up on what was going on, Shiro had a crush on a girl in his class, but she was leaving for Germany soon, and he wanted to find away to make her happy, how to 'woe' her in terms that I don't want to say who said it. To put a long explanation short, Shiro trained everyday while I was gone with Tamaki to play 'Moonlight Sonata'. That day was where the two were going to give their private performance. Shaking my head a bit, let myself be led to the back, where the racks were lined with white suits.

I picked one that had my name tagged to it, and changed into it. I placed my bag and my uniform away before walking out, making room for the others. I sat down on one of the couches, looking around the Host Club. I felt as if I hadn't been there in years, with how it was decorated. Laying my head against the back of the couch, I closed my eyes a bit, enjoying the mild chatter in the background. I felt the cushions sink next to me, and I rolled my head a bit, and opened my eyes partially, to see who it was who sat beside me, and saw that it was Takashi.

We looked at each other a bit, blinking once at each other, and smiled a little at one another. I decided that I would give Takashi his gift after things were done at the club that day. "Gomen for causing you guys so much trouble with my absence." I told him softly. He shook his head a bit at that. "Iie." He said softy, but before we could say anything else, the rest of the club joined us, and Shiro came through the cub door, fidgeting nervously, making me chuckle a bit.

Tamaki soon swept him up, and started giving him a pep talk, which I could tell wasn't working, so I walked over to them, and took Shiro aside, into the kitchen. I handed him a glass of water after placing him on top of the counter, and looked at the kitchen wall a bit. "Even if you make a mistake on your part of the piece, I'm sure she wouldn't mind. I bet she'd be just as pleased that she got to play with you, than that you knew it all." I said softly as I looked over at him with a smile.

"I know... but... what if she doesn't like it? I mean..." he then let out a defeated sigh, making me chuckle as I ruffled his hair a bit. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You're just nervous before hand, but as soon as you see her smile, you'll know that everything will be alright." I said, my voice softening as well as my eyes. "No matter what lies ahead, I doubt she'll forget the time you two have spent with one another. Just let yourself be you." He seemed to brighten at this and handed me the glass of water before jumping off of the counter and walked over to the door.

"You're not too bad for an okama, much better than that other one here." he said with a mischievous grin. "But thanks." He said and left the kitchen, making me shake my head. I washed the glass out, dried it and put it away, not being able to keep a smile off my face. "It's just what I've felt after all." I mused as I turned around to leave. To my surprise, Kyoya was standing there, leaning against the door, with his arms crossed.

"Well Ryuu-sempai, I didn't expect you to say such deep felt words." He mused, as he pushed his glasses up. I smirked a bit as I placed a hand on my hip. "And I'm not surprised that you've eavesdropped Kyo-Kyo. What do I owe this pleasure?" I asked, leaning against the counter.

"I would like your help on what we could do for the customers, to bring up the profits that we have lost." He said with a slight shrug. "What time is the little princess coming at?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Approximately twenty more minutes Ryuu-sempai." He answered, making me sigh a bit. "Very well, what options have you thought up?" I asked.

Soon, after my little meeting with Kyoya, and convincing him to lower my debt whenever I helped him, the eight of us were lined up beside the doors to our club, a red carpet between us as we spit up into two lines. I was standing beside Takashi and Mitsukuni, who was attached to Takashi's neck as we greeted the girl.

I wasn't too surprised when I saw the surprised look upon her face and her uncertainty as she walked further into the club. But that all changed when she saw Shiro, who smiled at her, and asked her to play with him, with a small blush on his face. She quickly agreed to that, and Tamaki was already by the piano's holding out her chair for her, while I closed the club doors behind us.

Soon the two started to play, and I couldn't help but smile at how happy they were. I was standing next to Takashi, and couldn't help but look up at him, as he conveniently looked down at me. I chuckled softly and smiled at him. I was surprised when I felt his hand on my shoulder and gave it a small squeeze as he looked back at the two children as they played. I understood his silent message, that he was glad to have me back with the club.

After the two were finished playing, they linked hands, thanked us, then left the club. I chuckled a bit and shook my head as we went back to the change rooms and changed back into our uniforms. We were lounging on the couches again, Mitsukuni, Takashi, and I sharing one, the twins and Haruhi sharing another and Kyoya and Tamaki sharing the last one.

I was kind of zoning out during the talk and staring up at the ceiling. I was laying on the couch again, my head propped up by my hands. It was only when I felt myself getting poked, that I blinked and tuned into the conversation.

"Huh?"I asked, blinking a little in confusion. "Ryuu-sempai, we were talking about the financial profits of the club." The twins said as they stuck their tongues out at the subject. I gave a sheepish smile and scratched my cheek. "Gomen, but it's no wonder I tuned out, that subject isn't forte." I admitted, making the twins laugh.

"Makoto you're not good at math?" Mitsukuni asked me as he looked down at me. I chuckled a little and shook my head. "Iie, I'm good at math, I just find it to be as thrilling as going to the dentist." I said, and laughed a bit as he made a face. Kyoya sighed a bit as he pushed up his glasses, telling us that we were free to go, and enjoy our weekend.

The twins let out a 'whoop' and ran out, quickly followed by Tamaki, then Haruhi, who was just glad to get some time to study. I got off the couch and walked over to my bag, picking it up, I rummaged through it before I felt what I was looking for, a box, that held the scroll in it. I took it out of my bag, making sure it was still in one piece, before putting it back and looked around the room, surprised to see that it was only Mitsukuni, Takashi and I left in it. 'They all must have been desperate to leave.' I thought with a shake of my head.

"Neh, neh, ready to leave Makoto?" Mitsukuni asked with a smile. I chuckled softly and nodded my head. "Hai Mitsukuni." I said, placing my bag over my shoulder as I walked over to them. I had been suckered by both Mitsukuni and Satoshi at lunch to go over to the Morinozuka household after club activities. It also didn't help that my sisters found us, and agreed with them. They said that it would be good 'bonding time'.

In the end, I caved, it's hard not to when you have four people, two being your own siblings giving you the puppy eye and quivering lower lip, while the fifth person watched the exchanged with an amused look in his eyes. Walking over to my two classmates, we left the club room and walked down to where their limo was waiting. I still wasn't use to riding in their limo with them, the drive to Takashi's home was silent, oddly enough, with Takashi and I looking out the window, while Mitsukuni played with Usa-chan.

When we came to the house, Mitsukuni skipped out of the limo with Takashi and I following behind him. We were greeted by Satoshi, who was drying his hair with a towel, probably having just gotten home from Kendo practice. His face lit up when he saw us. "Ah! Taka-nii! Mitsukuni-kun! Makoto-nee! You're all here!" he said happily. Takashi smiled a bit at his brother and nodded his head. "Ah. Go tell Kaa-san and Tou-san." He said, and quickly Satoshi ran to where his parents were.

We soon followed behind, Mitsukuni, making himself comfortable on Takashi's shoulders as I followed behind. We walked into the living room, and were greeted by Akira and his wife. "Ah, Mitsukuni-sama, Mako-chan! Glad you could come over." Akira said with a smile as we sat down on one of the couches, across from them. Satoshi soon came back into the living room and plopped down beside me. Soon all of us started talking about our day.

I didn't realize how late it had gotten until Mitsukuni started yawning, saying that he was starting to get tired. That was when I looked outside, and saw that it was already dark. My eyes widen at that, as I thought of my sisters, I hoped they didn't starve because there was no supper ready, though I knew that there was leftovers in the fridge, so they probably didn't.

I stood up from the couch after gently setting Satoshi against the couch. He had fallen asleep against me while we were talking a few hours ago. I didn't mind that he did, I thought it was cute. "Arigato for tonight, I had fun talking with all of you, but it's getting late, and I should probably be heading home." I said.

Akira looked through the window, and hummed a bit. "Hai, you're right Mako-chan, Takashi, do you mind walking Makoto home?" he asked his son as he looked over. I was about to protest until Takashi said that he would. Standing up, Takashi looked over at me and nodded his head slightly, making me sigh, I was not going to win any argument, that I may try to start.

I felt sudden weight on my back, arms wrapping themselves around my neck in a hug. "Oyasuminasai Mako-chan." Mitsukuni said sleepily, making me chuckle softly. "Oyasuminasai Mitsukuni, sleep well." I whispered back as I gently moved him to my arms before placing him back on the couch, covering both Satoshi and Mitsukuni with a blanket that Takashi had handed me. I gently ruffled Satoshi's hair as he slept, wishing him a goodnight as well before turning to Akira and Miko, and bowed to them.

"Thank you for letting me come over again. I hope you both have a good evening." I said with a smile. I felt a hand ruffle my hair playfully, and chuckles. "You're always welcome over here anytime Mako-chan." Akira told me, making me flush. "Arigato Akira-san." I said as I straightened up. Smiling back at me, Akira and Miko followed Takashi and I to the door while we placed our shoes on. After saying goodnight once more, Takashi and I started walking through his yard towards the pathway that led into the park.

While we walked, we were both silent, each in our own thoughts. It was a little chilly out, and I felt myself subconsciously move closer to Takashi, who's natural warmth was emanating from his body. The wind had picked up a bit, causing the silhouetted trees to wave and bend in the breeze. Takashi seemed to have noticed this and stepped closer to me, causing our sides to brush up against one another.

At the sudden contact, we quickly looked at each other, and blushed, looking away quickly. "Gomen Takashi!" I said quietly, wrapping my arms around my waist slightly. "Iie, it's not your fault, it's mine." He said quietly, making me shake my head. Soon we looked back at each other, and we realized that we were being silly. I laughed softly as he smiled, no longer embarrassed.

I could hear the cars on the street coming closer, I then realized that I still hadn't given Takashi his present, and gently tugged on the sleeve of his uniform. He looked down at me curiously, and I pointed over to a bench. He looked at me curiously, making me only smile at him as we walked over to the bench. When we were sitting, I placed my bag on my lap and started searching through it as Takashi sits next to me and watches, when I finally find the box, I placed it on my lap, and stared at it for a few moments before turning to him.

"Ah... Satoshi told me that your birthday was coming up... and well... Here, Happy Birthday." I said, blushing as I handed him the box. I wasn't looking at him, but I could guess that he was starring at the box for a few moments before taking it from me, and for a brief moment, his hands covered mine. "Arigato... Makoto..." he said softly, probably unsure of what to say. I looked over at him from the corner of my eye, watching as he opened the box and took out the scroll. He starred at it for a while, a surprised look on his face before he opened it.

There was a light next to us, providing enough light for him to read. As he read the scroll, his eyes widened a bit more, until he closed the scroll up. We were silent a bit more, with me biting my lip nervously. Finally Takashi turned towards me, after placing the scroll back into its box, a sincere smile gracing his face. "Arigato Makoto, I will treasure this." He told me gently as I looked up at him with a smile. "You're welcome Takashi, I'm glad that you like it." I said softly.

Standing up, we continued on our way, both walking a little bit closer to one another than before. When we came to my street, we paused again, standing in front of one another. We stared into each other's eyes for a bit, until I looked away, pushing some of my longer hair behind my ears. "Ano... I guess this is my stop." I said softly as I looked back at him. He nodded his head a bit, his hand gripping the box a little tighter. "Ah." He said softly

I bit my lip again as I looked over at my apartment block and then back at Takashi. I decided to be a bit bold. "Ano... would it be too awkward if I gave you a hug?" I asked, as our eyes locked. I could feel the heat rise into my cheeks, as I watched his cheeks gain a bit of colour as he shook his head. "Iie." He said quietly. With that, we both took a step closer to one another, and I timidly wrapped my arms around him, feeling him do the same with me.

I couldn't help but smile though, his body heat surrounded me, shielding me from the cool wind that blew around us. I think we hugged for about five minutes straight, cause after we broke apart, I could still feel the warmth around me.

"Oyasuminasai Takashi-kun, sleep well." I said softly, smiling brightly at him. He smiled back and placed his hand on top of my head affectionately. "Oyasuminasai Makoto." He said softly back, and gently nodded his head towards my apartment. I nodded my head and took a few steps back, wishing him a safe walk home. Soon I turned around and started walking up to my apartment. When I was at the door, I looked over at the park, and saw him still standing there watching me. I waved at him one last time as I opened the door, and when I saw him give a small wave back, I entered.

Once I was in my room, I changed into my pyjamas and crawled into bed, falling asleep instantly with the warmth of Takashi, still covering me. I think I slept all the way through that night, a permanent smile placed on my lips. It was the best sleep I had ever had.


	15. Chapter 15

Shiro had been coming back to the club for ten days, probably to drive Tamaki crazy, which did happen mind you. Shiro had stolen all of Tamaki's customers, without really trying, since he had used his little kid charms of being a 'naughty' boy. It took both of the twins to stop Tamaki from going after Shiro, who mocked him. I found it amusing to say the least, since he was also still in contact with the girl he liked, telling us that she actually got jealous easily since he was becoming close with all of his new 'Onee-chan's'.

On another note though, it seemed since the day I gave Takashi his birthday present, and hugged him, that something had... well not really sparked... but we were more... or rather we were a little more open with our emotions than how we first were around each other. During Kendo practice, we would spar each other, when we usually sparred with others. It was better practice than with the ones I was normally sparring with. Sometimes we would spar all practice while the others sparred for half a practice. The captain didn't seem to mind this, for it was easier on him to instruct the others and use us as examples on certain things. That, and sparring with Takashi helped me tune my senses better.

It was now the beginning of June, and the weather outside was warmer out, signalling that it was summer. Currently I was walking outside, reading a book for an upcoming test that we having in theory. I sighed a bit as I exited the school only to be scooped up be Takashi, with Mitsukuni riding on his shoulders. "Target caught!" Mitsukuni chirped as I looked up at them in surprise. A limo then stopped in front of us and we saw Kyoya, and what looked like to be the shadows of my sisters behind him. "Good, you two know where to take her now." He said, the window then was rolled up and the limo sped away.

I blinked in confusion as I looked up at Takashi and Mitsukuni, hoping they would answer my questions. "Ano... Mitsukuni... Takashi? What's going on?" I asked, but before they could answer, their limo pulled up and I was taken inside. I was placed beside Takashi as Mitsukuni bounced in his seat. "It's a surprise!" Mitsukuni said happily, I looked over at Takashi, slightly pouting at him, but he shook his head at me, not going to tell me either. I sighed at his and leaned back against the seat, stuffing my book back into my bag, knowing that I wouldn't have time to study for the rest of the day.

It didn't take us long to get to the place, it was just a few miles out of the city. It was a resort, a large one at that. I felt a hand on the small of my back, pushing me forward, and I complied, already knowing that it was Takashi. Mitsukuni was on Takashi's shoulders again and I could hear him humming happily as we walked inside the resort. There, I could see my sisters swooning at the place happily. I felt them glomp me, looking up at me happily as I ruffled their hair.

"Isn't this amazing Mako-nee?" they said happily, both of them giggling a bit as they grabbed my hands, and pulled me to where Haruhi was. "Ah, it certainly is something, but don't you both have homework to do?" I asked with a sigh. I knew that I did, when I took a look at Haruhi, I could tell she wasn't very impressed. She was looking around her unsure of what to say about all of this. I was in her shoes, in wanting to go home. But as soon as we were with Haruhi, the twins, Mitsukuni, and Takashi, came over and pretty much, forced some of us to go walking towards the change rooms, mainly Haruhi and I.

When we got there, I had to blink my eyes, there were two twin maids there, and on Hikaru and Kaoru's command, they dragged me and Haruhi in, my sisters going into a different place. I had to say though, that the maids scared me a bit. Hikaru and Kaoru told us that they had brought all of their mother's new swimsuits and that we could pick one. The maids tried to get both Haruhi and I into some skimpy ones, after trying to convince the twins that we didn't need swimsuits. In the end, I chose one, it was a purple tankini halter top, with long black beach shorts. I was surprised that it fit well, pretty much perfectly and I walked out, with a towel around my waist. I looked over at my sisters who were talking with the twins, Takara was wearing a deep blue bikini, while Takara was wearing something similar to me, except instead of beach shorts, she was wearing a brown halter top and light blue short shorts.

I was greeted by Mitsukuni who immediately complimented me, saying that I looked cute in it, and dragged me over to Takashi, who was staring up at the sky. "Takashi! Makoto's picked out a really cute bathing suit!" he chirped, causing him to look over at us. I felt his eyes scan over me for a brief moment, making me blush as our eyes met. He smiled a little and nodded his head. "Ah." He said, agreeing with his cousin. Blushing a bit more, I tossed my towel to the side and dove in. I really didn't do well with embarrassment. Takashi soon joined me as we swam against the current, it was good exercise I found, for it had been a while since I've gone swimming.

Mitsukuni, hopped from one of our backs to the other as we swam. He seemed genuinely happy cause even though we were stroking hard, we weren't going anywhere. Takashi decided to take a break, and I told him that I could watch over Mitsukuni, who was now swimming beside me as stood up. I watched Takashi a bit as he pulled himself up from the water. I couldn't help but watch a few of the water droplets fall down his back. On the main land, Yuzuki, the twins and Tamaki were having a water fight while Takara was talking with Kyoya.

I stretched my arms out a bit and I noticed that Mitsukuni was looking at me a bit with a smile. "Makoto, you and Takashi get along really well neh?" he said, causing me to chuckle a bit and nod. "Yeah, we do seem to get along well hm?" I said with a small laugh and smiled back at him. I went back to swimming against the currents, my mind thinking on what Mitsukuni had said about Takashi and I getting along. 'Could he be talking about something else?' I thought curiously.

During my thoughts, I didn't hear something beep. What I did realize though that the water in the pool was starting to flow faster. Looking, up, I saw a giant wave coming towards us, without thinking, I scooped Mitsukuni into my arms, and tried to get him up on the ledge before he was swept away. Takashi noticed as well as he was coming towards us as I lifted his cousin up. Just when Takashi was getting closer to us, he slipped on a banana peel, falling down. The wave then crashed down on us, sweeping us away. The last thing I could hear was Takashi, my sisters and Haruhi calling our names as we were dragged under the water.

When I opened my eyes next, I was laying on the ground, pushing myself up, I looked around, seeing jungle completely surrounding me. As I sat back on my knees, I ran a hand through my hair, before realizing, that I couldn't see Mitsukuni anywhere. Standing up, I tried to look for him, ending up with me walking through the jungle. I stayed near the stream though, just in case Mitsukuni was still near it. All around me birds called out to one another and the rest of the animals growled, in the shadows watching.

"Did we get separated thanks to that wave?" I mumbled to myself as I brushed a leaf out of my way. I hummed a bit with a frown, following the sound of the water. I figured that if I continued following the river, I'd eventually find either Mitsukuni, or the others. Hopefully Mitsukuni first though, for I was sure that Takashi was worried about his cousin. I would admit though, that it was amazing that they'd be able recreate a forest like this. Soon I found Mitsukuni, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oi! Mitsukuni!" I called happily, as I jogged over to him. He looked over at me and smiled happily, though, I knew it was strained.

"Makoto! I was worried that you were lost!" he said, running over to me and hugging me tightly. I hugged him back and ruffled his hair a bit. "Iie, I'm just I found you Mitsukuni, we should probably find our way back to the others. I'm sure Takashi is worried over you." I said, causing him to nod. "Hai! Let's go through the trees, that way we'll have a better chance at finding them!" he said and started climbing upward, I soon followed the suit, agreeing that we would have a better chance if we went through the trees. I looked up at the sky, and took a few sniffs before frowning. Mitsukuni, seemed to notice the moisture in the air, and led us to a large tree with an opening in the trunk.

"Let's stop here Makoto! At least until the rain slows down!" he said, pointing to the tree as water started falling hard upon us. I nodded in agreement, and we sat inside the tree, watching the rain fall around us. I brought my legs up to my chest, and rested my head against them, my eyelids lowering a bit. Mitsukuni was bouncing up and down where he was sitting, looking outside as well, as if he was worried about something, most likely Takashi.

"Mitsukuni, I'm sure Takashi will be alright, after all he is with the others." I said softly as I turned to him. I couldn't help but tilt my head a bit as I gazed at the sullen look on his face. Before I could ask him what was wrong, he shot out towards me, hugging me tightly. I was surprised to feel wet spots start from his tears. "Mitsukuni, I'm sure he'll be alright, Takashi is a big boy, and I know that he's doing his best to try and find you." I said soothingly as I ran my fingers through his hair. I let Mitsukuni, cry against my stomach as I looked outside.

I wasn't sure how much time went by until the rain started to slow down, but when it did, I noticed that Mitsukuni had fallen asleep. Smiling softly, I gently brought him onto my back, and I ventured outside. Closing my eyes a bit, I centered myself, and allowed my instincts to lead us in the right direction. Starting to walk, I could hear the displeased sounds of the animals, more so the big cats, thanks to the rain, and our intrusion. I looked around the forest, stopping a few times to look at how the animals had adapted to their new environment. I wasn't very pleased that they were forced in doors, but it was a large enough place, that I suppose, that for the animals, it didn't really matter.

Along the way Mitsukuni woke up and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Gomen Makoto, I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that." He said quietly, as I turned to look at him. I couldn't help but chuckle softly at him. "Iie Mitsukuni, it's alright. It's a stressful thing being away from your family like this." I told him gently. I wished I had been paying attention, cause after I let Mitsukuni off my back, we started walking, and talking, getting our minds off the fact that we were away from everyone. As we walked, I didn't see a root that was sticking up, from the ground. I really only remembered cursing to myself as I fell, and a sharp pain going through my body as my ankle twisted sharply. Biting my lip I looked up from my position on the ground, not realizing what had happened from being stunned. Mitsukuni was quick to come to my side, asking me if I was alright.

Before I could reply though, as I tried to stand up, I bit my lip, crumpling back to the ground. "I would say yes, but I just sprained my ankle." I said through gritted teeth. Taking a deep breath, I moved myself next to a tree and pulled myself up so I was leaning against the tree. I looked at Mitsukuni, who looked like he was going to cry again and smiled reassuringly at him. "Mitsukuni, I'll be fine, it's just a sprain, I'll ask Kyoya or Takashi to look at it when we get back." I told him. He nodded hesitantly walked over to me. "What should we do Makoto?" he asked, and I could tell that he didn't want to leave me alone here. I smiled at him again and pointed up in the tree, where some thick vines were hanging down.

"How about we swing our way back, this way, we'll be able to stick together, and we don't have to worry about me causing anymore damage to my ankle." I suggested. He brightened up at the idea and started climbing the tree, soon a vine came down beside me, and I gently tugged on it, making sure that it was secure before pulling myself up. I was glad that I never had problems climbing rope before, and soon I sat myself on the branch that Mitsukuni was standing on. Looking across the forest, I could hear Mitsukuni hum a bit, deciding what we should do. It was then that I spotted something yellow in the distance, and pointed it out to him.

"Maybe everyone is over there, from here it looks like it's a shelter." I mused. "Un! You're right Makoto! Let's go!" he said cheerfully, and soon grabbed onto his vine, and started swinging, with me following his lead. I couldn't help but laugh a bit, feeling the rush of air against my face. When we couldn't go any further, we had to switch vines, which luckily, for us were easy to access, once we switched vines, we continued to swing, switching vines when we had to. We also dodged trees, which was actually easier than I thought it would be. I looked over at Mitsukuni, and saw a frown on his face, as if something was wrong.

"Makoto! I'm going on ahead, I think something's wrong." He said, and before I could say anything, he was gone. Sighing, I continued, trying to following Mitsukuni the best that I could without causing myself any more damage. But it was when I heard the familiar screams of my sisters that I sped up, my eyes darkening in the thought that my sisters could be in danger. As I came to the spot, I noticed that it was a small clearing, where, Takashi, Haruhi, Takara, and Yuzuki were all standing in. Standing in surprise, well all but Takashi were, as Mitsukuni took care of the men, who looked like special police, knocking most of them out. I landed on a tree, making sure to grab it with my hands, and not with my feet.

It seemed that I had lost all strength in my arms, for I could only allow myself to hang on the branch, wincing as my ankle throbbed. I bit my lip as to not whimper, but it was hard to do. It had been a while since I was in this type of pain. As soon as Mitsukuni knew everyone was safe, he smiled, his usual carefree self. "Hunny-sempai, where's Mako-nee? We don't see her with you." I heard my sisters say in worry. I decided to let my presence be known and chuckled a bit. "I'm right here, Taka-chan, Yuzu-chan. Gomen for worrying you." I said loud enough for them to hear. They turned to me and ran to where I was, looking up at me.

"Mako-nee! We're so glad you're safe! But why are you still in the tree, why not jump down?" they asked me curiously. I blushed a little at this and turned away a bit. "I sprained my ankle, and I can't put any weight on it..." I said, coughing a little in embarrassment. In the background, I could hear the head guard apologizing to Mitsukuni for attacking his friends. After a small lecture, I could hear Mitsukuni talking to his cousin, as my sisters determined on what they should do. "I'll go tell Kyoya-san what happened, maybe we can do something when we get you back!" Takara said and grabbed onto her sisters, and Haruhi's wrists, dragging them along.

I let out a bit of a sigh, glad once my sisters had disappeared into the brush. My hands were starting to slip, and I could tell that I was going to fall soon. I tried to tighten my grip, but it was no use, all of my adrenalin was gone. I was feeling exhausted now, more than anything else. I heard someone say my name as the last of my strength left me, causing a gasp to leave my lips as a rush of wind circled around me as I fell. I thought I was going to hit the ground, after all, Takashi, and Mitsukuni were far away when I had last checked. Instead of the ground, I fell into two warm arms, which tightened around me securely, brining me closer to an equally warm chest.

I looked up, both surprised and glad that Takashi had caught me. I gave him a tired, but grateful smile as I leaned against his shoulder. "Arigato Takashi, I really owe you." I told him softly, willing my heart rate to go down. I bit my lip again when I felt my ankle being brushed against something, and squeezed my eyes shut. I could only deduce that I had severely twisted my ankle. 'Damn root...' I couldn't help but think darkly.

"Makoto's going to be okay now! Especially since Takashi is going to be carrying you!" Mitsukuni piped up as he looked down at me from Takashi's shoulders. I smiled up at him, and just nodded. Usually I would protest to being carried like this, but I knew that if I would, that both Takashi and Mitsukuni would immediately disagree with me. I closed my eyes a bit, letting myself relax a little, as I heard voices of the others coming towards us. My sisters letting out a sigh of relief when they saw that I wasn't hanging from the tree anymore.

The twins looked around at the guards, saying how Mitsukuni must have gone easy on them, confusing Haruhi, so they explained. While they did that, Kyoya walked over to us and took a look at my foot, as soon as he touched it, my other foot went, on its own mind you, to kick him away. That was stopped though by Takashi, making me wince in pain as Kyoya poked my ankle. I gave Takashi a very unamused, almost painful pout, trying my hardest not to hit the Ootori. "Well Ryuu-sempai, it looks like you sprained your ankle quite severely. You'll be on crutches for about two weeks, and even then, maybe more. I'll prescribe you some painkillers, which will of course, be added to your debt." He said as he looked at me.

I looked back at him, smirking a bit through partially lidded eyes. "I would think that the painkillers would be free Kyo-Kyo, after all, I did get injured on your property, I don't think you would like to have a bad reputation hm?" I said, and saw his eyes widen a smidge before going back to their regular relaxed state. "Hai, of course Ryuu-sempai." He said, making me smirk a bit. 'I win.' I thought cheerfully. Soon the guards were apologising profusely to Mitsukuni, and that they were honoured to 'exchange blows' with him. I chuckled softly at that, and looked up at Takashi, seeing him smile. My sisters were talking about something with the twins as everyone walked back. Soon we were back at the main part of the building, where we were earlier that day, and started walking towards the change rooms. Along the way, the twins said that next time we should all go to the beach, to which Tamaki said that Haruhi and I wouldn't like that.

I chuckled softly and shook my head. "Iie Tamaki, Haruhi and I just don't like artificial things like we. We do like the beach. It's nice and calming there, and very beautiful, neh, Haruhi, Taka-chan, Yuzu-chan?" I looked over at the girls with a smile, to which they all smiled back at me, agreeing with what I had said. The sun was setting now, and we all paused to look at it. Closing my eyes a bit, I felt myself relax, feeling at peace now that everything was now calm. Takashi was still carrying me, as I felt myself drift off. I honestly, couldn't help it! He was just so comfortable and warm. He also made me feel at peace, like nothing was going to go wrong.


	16. Chapter 16

When I woke up the next day, I wasn't sure where I was, or how I fell asleep. Sitting up, I bit my tongue a bit, mentally cursing the fact that I should take it easy with my bummed ankle. Breathing out slowly, I once again, became calm, feeling the dull throb of my ankle. As I opened my eyes, I took in the room I was in. I wasn't at home. Furrowing my brows in confusion, I let my eyes focus a bit more. I was in a traditional styled Japanese room, but instead of a futon, I was in a twin bed, it was nice and plush, the sheets were smooth to the touch and the colour of blueberries. The comforter was thick enough to keep one warm but at the same time was thin enough to let a person breath, it was the same colour as the sheets with a white spiral pattern on it.

As I moved the sheets away from me, I noticed that I had been changed. Instead of wearing the bathing suit that I remembered I was in, I was instead, now wearing a sleeping hakama, which was a light brown colour, the pants, a darker brown. Shifting myself a bit so my feet where hanging off the bed, I winced looking at my ankle. It was the size of a baseball, and had turned a dark purple from all the blood that had been released. My toes and the rest of my foot were slightly bloated from this, making me sigh. 'I really did it now...' I thought, as I gently poked my bloated foot. 'I wonder how long I'll be off from kendo...' I sighed again at this. Looking up, and pushing away the misery of my thoughts, I noticed two crutches, leaning against the side table. I couldn't help but smile a little as I brought them over and placed my good foot on the ground. I adjusted the crutches for my height and slowly made my way out of the room I was staying in.

As I got to the door, it swung open, and I was face to face with Takashi, who was also wearing a hakama of dark blue. It seemed that he was surprised that I was already up, for his eyes had widen a smidge. Since I still wasn't sure what time it was, I bowed my head a bit in greeting before looking up at him, with a small smile. "Ohayou Takashi." I said softly. He nodded his head in greeting a small smile on his lips. "Ohayou Makoto." He said softly. "Are you here to check on my ankle?" I asked him. He nodded once and I understood. I made my way back to the bed with Takashi following me, watching my movements like a hawk would its prey.

"I'll be alright Takashi, I promise. I'm just a bit of a little klutz at times." I told him as I sat down, leaning the crutches against the bedside. Takashi didn't say anything a he brought a stool from the corner of the room, which I didn't notice till then. He sat in front of me and gently took my bruised foot in his hands. I watched his facial expressions as he looked at my foot. His brows were knitted together, a small frown on his face. His warm hand felt nice against my swollen ankle, as he continued to look at it. It helped soothe the pain a lot.

"About a month..." I heard him mumble. I looked back at his face, which was still etched into a frown. "What will be a month Takashi?" I asked softly as he turned to me. "That you will be off your foot." He answered as he gently placed my ankle down to where my other foot was. He stood up, placing the stood back where it was. I got up with my crutches again and looked at him. He seemed very disturbed that I would be out of practice for a month. I hobbled my way over to him and gently place my hand on his arm, this made him look at me. "Don't look so down Takashi, as soon as I can put weight back onto my foot, I'll start training again." I told him, hoping that it would help calm him down.

I think it worked for he seemed more relax than before. Nodding, he motioned to the door, which I could smell breakfast coming from. I nodded my head and with a smile, the two of us left the guest room. I followed Takashi to the dining area, and imagine my surprise, when I saw my sisters, and Mitsukuni sitting at the table. Akira looked over at us when we entered and smiled at us. "Takashi, Mako-chan, good to have you two join us!" he said, making the others who looked to be talking, turn to us as well. My sisters, Satoshi, and Mitsukuni came rushing over to us, and promptly attached themselves to me, all asking me how I was feeling, if I was in pain, that kind of thing.

Not use to having four people hanging onto me, and being on crutches, I could feel myself start to become unstable. Takashi seemed to notice this for he gently placed his hands on my shoulders. I let out a sigh of relief, and gave him a grateful smile as I turned to the four with a small laugh and a smile. "I'm doing fine, my ankle is a type three sprain, I'm going to have to use crutches for at least a month until I can put my weight on my foot again. No I'm not going to die because of the blood loss in my foot. It will go away once my body starts to heal itself, yes I will have to go into therapy so I can train the ligaments and muscles again." I said, answering all of the questions that I could make out. I ruffled all of their heads with a smile, letting them know that I was really okay.

Soon they were off of me, sitting back down where they were before, Takashi took his hands off of my shoulders and I turned to Akira and Miko and bowed to them. "Gomen for intruding on your family like this Akira-san, Miko-san. I didn't mean for it to happen." I said softly. "Mako-chan, you don't need to apologise. As I said last time you were here. You're always welcomed, besides what are we suppose to do, when Takashi and Mitsukuni come in here with your worried sisters, while you're limp, and fast asleep in Takashi's arms with such a sprained ankle." He said, making my cheeks burn in embarrassment.

He started to chuckle, seeing that I was at a loss for words and smiled. "You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to. I don't think it would be wise for you go back home yet." This caused an argument to bubble up in my throat. But before I could voice it, Akira's friendly eyes turned serious, at this time my sisters pulled Mitsukuni and Satoshi out of the room, not wanting to hear what was going to happen. "Makoto, I know that you are a very independent young woman. I can see that by how you have raised your sisters after the divorce. But you need to see that sometimes you have to lean on others when you need to. If you go back to your apartment, you're more likely to fall down the stairs, and you'll end up worse than you are now." He said, his face stoic, which I could see, that Takashi took after.

My brows furrowed on their own, my own face now devoid of any emotion. "Akira-san, I understand what you are saying. But I cannot allow myself to burden your family like this. You have already done a lot in the past, when I have been here. I will not have your family worry about one other person, it must already be hard enough as it is with your own family." I said. We were silent for a while, the two of looking straight at each other. Our eyes never wavering, and never straying. I wasn't sure how long we were locked in contact for, but it was broken as soon as Takashi placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Makoto if you go home, we'll have to call your father." He said, making me tense a bit. Akira grinned at that, knowing that I was weakening to what Takashi had said. I knew straight away that if my father was informed, then he would drive over, force me to stay home, and off my feet, not letting me do anything at all and would baby me. I sighed heavily as I closed my eyes, I could feel a headache already sprouting at the mere thought of my father living with us for a month. And if my father was coming over so was Renji, and if they were both over, I knew my sisters and I would be completely scarred for life. I think I went pale at the thought for three pairs of concerned eyes were looking at me. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, I opened my eyes, and looked at them.

"You're cruel to use that against me Takashi." I pouted at him. Akira let out a heartfelt laugh, and Miko let out a soft laugh. I was looking up at Takashi, still pouting, but I could see that he was amused at how easily I caved at the mention of my father. Akira came over to us and slapped his hand over my shoulder. "Don't worry about anything Mako-chan, we'll take good care of you." He said smiling down at me. I just sighed and nodded my head. I was now in the mercy of the Morinozuka's, and I didn't know if that was going to be a good thing or not.

A month went by, quicker than I expected it to. My ankle started getting better by the third week, so I had stopped using crutches. I also started physiotherapy during the second week of staying with the Morinozuka's. It seemed that Miko was a physiotherapist, so every day she would give me exercises to do, so my ankle would become strong again. The swelling also went down over the month, and I started wearing an ankle brace on Miko-san's insistence. By the end of the third week, I was back at Kendo, taking it easy, I even started Karate to help strengthen my ankle even more.

I was really thankful for the Morinozuka's for taking me in, even though I didn't want them to. They surprised me though, since they treated me like they would a family member. And despite their protests, I helped around the house, even if it was just helping with dinner or washing the dishes. Eventually though, I had to tell Daichi-tou-san what had happened to me, during the second day there, I phoned him up, and he spent over an hour complaining and worrying over me. Before I could tell him where I was though, Akira-san took the phone away from me and talked to my father, calming him down. There were only two people who I knew could do that, Renji-san, and Akira-san.

My 'clients' were concerned the first day they saw me come in with crutches. I had refused to stay at the estate, when I was perfectly capable of going to school. I had reassured them that I was alright, and that I had just sprained my ankle. In token of their sadness, and worry, they got me a few gifts, most of which I really didn't need, ever. Once I was off my crutches though, they were better about my injury, telling me how glad they were that I was getting better, and that I was able to walk without help. It had gotten annoying very quickly.

It was after Host hours, and the middle of June already. Haruhi ad I were finishing up our homework, she sitting at a small table and myself laying on the couch near here. I was reading a book for English when the twins came up to us, and started talking about the beach. Haruhi looked at the boys confused as they talked about going to the beach. I had to laugh a bit at the girl, for she had forgotten that we had mentioned the beach before.

"Do you remember Ryuu-sempai?" they asked as they looked over at me. I nodded my head as I closed the book I was reading. "Hai, I do. Everyone seemed to be pleased when I mentioned it." I said, then looked over at my sisters, who now came to the club every single day. Though I was surprised, I thought that they would both go to the twins table, since they got along so well, but only Yuzuki went to them, while Takara went to Kyoya. That's only when they weren't talkin with me and my customers, which was starting to become more often. Currently they were squealing at something behind the twins, which made me curious as to what it was. They grinned a bit as they pulled back, and stepping away, they revealed that they had countless of bathing suits in the room for us.

"Since you said that you wanted to go to the beach, we've prepared swimsuits!" they said, making both Haruhi and I sigh. "Really guys... is this necessary?" I asked as I looked at the bathing suits. There were many of them, over two dozen if I had to guess. "Of course Ryuu-sempai!" they said, as they brought to manikins towards us. One was a pink bikini with a ruffled top, it exposed quite a bit of skin, and I knew that it was meant for Haruhi. The other one was like the tankini I wore a month ago, except it was light brown and blue with brown short shorts. The top, from what I could tell, was tighter, and would expose more skin, making my eye twitch it also stopped about two inches from the hem of the shorts.

Before Haruhi or I could say anything, Mitsukuni picked out two swimsuits, saying that they would suit us. The one for Haruhi was blue, and looked to be a sailor outfit one piece, mine was also blue, but it resembled more of a dress than a swimsuit. I couldn't help but have eye twitch the site of the swimsuits, and coughed a little into my hand as I sat up a bit. The twins shook their heads, telling Mitsukuni that he didn't get it. They then stood Haruhi up and explained at because of her 'flat board' chest, this caused me to chuckle a bit, that she could easily fool others by wearing the male uniform. At this Mitsukuni held the manikin with a pout on his face, as they said that if Haruhi were to wear a one piece that it would expose that she doesn't have 'much to offer' and draw tears.

They then pulled me up, making me sigh. "As for Ryuu-sempai, she's more adorned that Haruhi, but can still easily be hidden through slightly baggy clothing." They said, making my eye twitch a bit more. "So by wearing our uniforms, no one notices Ryuu-sempai's figure. But if she were to wear a one piece like that, it would just flatten her out too much, which would also draw tears." They moved away before I could smack them, my face flushed lightly at the way they explained my body. 'Damn perverts...' I thought with a grumble.

"And so! This separate swimwear type we carefully chose for Haruhi does a good job covering this problem with frills." They said pointing to the pink two piece. "And for Ryuu-sempai, this swimwear type is perfect for showing off her athletic build, while emphasizing what she has, thus the tighter top and the short shorts." They said. Tamaki soon came towards the twins at an almost frightening speed, knocking the twins away.

"How dare you two keep sexually harassing my precious daughter and my precious aunt!" he yelled, making Haruhi and I both sigh. I laid back down on the couch, as the twins said to Tamaki if he didn't want to go to the beach, which he responded that he did. Kyoya, marked it down on his notebook, that it was settled cause everyone else seemed to want to go as well. I looked over at Takashi and saw that he was looking at a swimsuit that was very scandalous looking with two shells that covered the bosom with brown strings that tied around the neck and back. The bottom was brown, and looked to be like a thong.

I made a face at that, and turned away, looking up at the ceiling before anyone could see my distaste in the swimwear. Haruhi seemed surprise that everyone wanted to go, I was too, but at the same time I wasn't. I could tell that the club wanted Haruhi and I to enjoy ourselves. Looking over at them, I saw Tamaki smile at Haruhi. "Now then... to the beach we go!" he declared. With that, we went our separate ways. I was going back home with my sisters that day.

I was kinda sad not to be going back to Takashi's, but I knew it was for the best. I said my farewells to his parents and told them I would come by if anything started to hurt again. As I walked out with my sisters, I adjusted the bag on my shoulder, my sisters had the liberty of packing everything that I would need for a month, so I was now taking it all back home. Mitsukuni and Takashi walked with me and my sisters. It was Friday, and we all agreed that we would all head to the beach tomorrow morning. As we walked down the stairs, we were all silent, enjoying the calmness around us. When we got to the entrance, we saw the limo for the cousins. My sisters told me that they would meet me at home, but before they left, I gave them my bag to carry. Mitsukuni, told Takashi that he would wait in the limo and gave me a hug before bouncing off.

Once they were gone, I turned to the Takashi and smiled at him before bowing a bit. "Arigato Takashi, for everything you and your family have done. I'm sorry about burdening them like that for a month." I said softly. I felt a hand on my head, and I straightened out, looking up at the soft features on his face. "Iie Makoto." He said softly. "Arigato for letting us take care of you." With that his hand left my head, his knuckles gently brushing against my cheek as we looked at each other. My smiled gently at him and nodded my head a bit as the warmth of his hand left my body.

He nodded back and took a step back, heading towards his limo. He paused before going in and looked at me, a smile gracing his lips. "See you tomorrow." He said then went in. The limo went off, and I stood a bit, giving the retreating limo a small wave. Soon I was on my way home, thinking of what I should pack for tomorrow. No doubt our customers were going to be there too, so I knew I couldn't take anything girly, which was fine with me.

Once I got back to the apartment, I had to blink several times before I got irked. The entire apartment was a mess. Dishes weren't wash, food was left out, mail wasn't sorted, clothes were all over the floor. "Takara! Yuzuki!" I called angrily, knowing that they were still at home. They peeked their heads from their room, and gulped a bit. "Yes... Mako-nee?" they asked hesitantly. "You two are cleaning up this apartment before you go to bed! I want to 'ifs, ands, or buts'. Do you hear me?" I said. They gulped again ad nodded their heads vigorously. "Yes nee-chan!" they said as I made my way to my room, which as far as I could tell, was the only room that was still clean.

"Get to it. I expect the kitchen to be done in an hour so I can make supper." I told them before disappearing into my room, closing my door behind me. I let out a deep breath, but couldn't help but smile a bit. "I'm home." I whispered, laughing softly. I sorted out my clothing, which needed to be washed, then started packing my bag for tomorrow. I wasn't going to go swimming, I knew that much already, so I didn't pack a swimsuit. I packed some pyjama bottoms and a t-shirt to wear at night, two in case it was raining and I went outside. I also packed some shorts and a loose t-shirt to wear.

The rest of the night went by nicely, I supervised my sisters as they cleaned the apartment to my liking, then made supper for the three of us, which my sisters put, 'was a sign from heaven'. It seemed that Takara tried to cook for them, but was unsuccessful, and which caused Yuzuki to learn how to cook, which wasn't as bad, as I was told. When we went to bed, we were all smiling. I had missed being at home, and having responsibilities for my sisters, and they missed having their cook. A fair trade I must add.

The next morning came a little too quickly for my taste. I was in the kitchen making breakfast for us, so I didn't notice that my sisters snuck into my room, whispering to each other. After setting everything on the table, I ate my breakfast. I was still in my pyjamas, deciding to shower after I'd eaten. When I was done, I washed my dishes, and put them away, going back to my vacant room, I gathered the clothes I was going to wear and went into the shower. After I was washed and dressed, I went back to my room and picked my bag, meeting up with my sisters who were both wearing sundresses. Takara had died her hair last week purple with her bangs still pink.

"Okay you two, let's get going, you know the hassle we'll get if we're late." I told them, and with a nod, the three of us left our apartment, meetin up with Haruhi along the way. She and I were wearing about the same kind of thin, loose cargo shorts that came down to our knees and t-shirts. Haruhi sighed as she grabbed by my sisters, who excitedly started talking her ear off, making me chuckle. They definitely had Daichi-tou-san's morning attitude some days. The walk to school was quite, except for my sisters chattering. "Makoto-san, how does it feel to sleep in your own bed again?" Haruhi asked me. I turned to her and smiled. "It felt great. The Morinozuka's have a nice quest beds and all, but I missed my own." I said with a chuckle. She smiled at that and nodded her head. "It's nice that you're home though, I had to make sure Takara and Yuzuki got to school on time... I didn't realize how frustrating it was." She said with a heavy sigh.

I couldn't help but laugh at that, knowing exactly what she had went through. "Gomen Haruhi. I'm sorry that my sisters were such a hassle for you." I said, a smirk playing on my lips. She gave me a look that told that I owed her. I put my hands up in surrender, giving her a nod. "Hai, hai." I said, still laughing on the inside. When we got to the school, we were the last the ones there it seemed. Everyone else were already there waitin for us. All wearing swimwear, or beach entire.

"Haruhi! Yuzuki! Takara! Ryuu-sempai! You're late!" the twins shouted, making us roll our eyes. Soon we came up to them and Tamaki opened the door to the limo, and ushered everyone in without so much as a word. With ten of us in the limo, it was quite... cozy. I was sittin beside Takashi, next to the window, with Mitsukuni, on his lap, Kyoya next to him and Takara next to the other window. Across from us were Yuzuki, Kaoru, Haruhi, Hikaru and Tamaki. The last one complaining on how he wanted to sit beside Haruhi. Soon we were on our way to the beach, I kind of zoned everyone out as I leaned against the door, starring out as the city passed us by.

I think I fell asleep on the trip there, for I didn't have enough time to make any green tea to drink for breakfast. I also get quite sleepy on long trips, when there's nothing for me to do, but sit. When I opened my eyes next, we were comin to the beach, I smiled a bit seeing the glistening water and the white sand. It was then that I felt something on my lap, when I looked, I chuckled a bit, seeing Mitsukuni, sleeping on both Takashi and I. When we got out, we walked down a long case of stairs down to the beach. Once there, I couldn't help but marvel at how big the beach really was. It seemed that the twins weren't very impressed as they looked over at Tamaki.

"And...why did we choose Okinawa?" The twins asked, with a sigh at the end. I rolled my eyes at them as I looked over at my sisters who were talking happily, and pointed out a few things. We haven't gone to the beach since our parents divorced. Mainly because I couldn't drive yet, and we always founded that it was more of a family thing to do. "Kyoya's family has a private beach here." Tamaki said as he looked out over the water. Mitsukuni like it, and said that it was beautiful, I nodded my head in agreement, and I was sure that Takashi did the same.

The twins let out a sigh as they wrapped their arms around each other's necks. "But we could've gone to..." "the Caribbean..." Hikaru said with a sigh. "Or Fiji..." Kaoru sighed as well. At this point I was ready to throw the twins into the water, just to shut their complainin up. Luckily I didn't for Kyoya had stepped in. "And do you think Haruhi, Yuzuki, Takara, or Ryuu-sempai have a passport?" he said. This quieted the twins for they were silent for a few minutes.


	17. Chapter 17

Haruhi started to thank Kyoya for being so considerate of us. We were all really thankful for that. Once we placed our bags inside the Ootori manor, we went back to the beach, for maids would have taken everything to our rooms. Once on the beach, I slipped my sandals off, and sighed a bit, feeling myself relax. I had brought out a sketch book with me and set myself near a cave, leaning against the rock, propping my knees up so I could draw. Taking the pencil from my ear, I started sketching the coast line and the waves from the water with the sun reflecting off the water. My eyes closed partially as I started sketching in some of our customers in the process and hosts.

I felt a shadow fall over me for I suddenly started feeling cool. Looking up I smiled at my customers, who had gathered around. "Ryuu-sempai, what are you drawing?" one of them asked as they tried to look over my shoulder. I chuckled softly and turned the sketch around. "It's not much, but I thought it would be a nice reminder of today for the future." I said with a smile. The girls blushed as they looked at the picture, and squealed out. "Ryuu-sempai, That's amazing!" one said. "You're so kind! Can you make copies for us?" another asked, along with other comments.

Smiling at them again I nodded my head. "Hai, I promise, I'll get copies for everyone." I said with light laugh. They squealed again, with some asking me to draw them in my next picture, which I agreed to. Turning to a new page, I told the girls to have some fun while I drew them. They nodded and laughed a bit as they started splashing each other in the water. I couldn't help but laugh along with them, I was finding that being a part of the club was really doing some good, for both my sisters, Haruhi, and myself.

I looked around the beach as the wind blew around us, taking in what the others were doing. Tamaki was doing a 'one-on-one' session with his clients, while Kyoya kept time management. The twins were playing beach volleyball, then chasing each other when the ball went 'out of their reach'. Takashi and Mitsukuni were doing yoga, I think with their clients, and Haruhi was sitting on the beach under an umbrella with my sisters. Smiling at this I stood up, dusting off my shorts from sand and walked over to my bag, which I left with Haruhi. I placed my sketchbook inside and took in the sites as I stretched. I knew that I would soon have to do some exercises myself.

Before I could though, I felt a tug on my hand, and turned to see my customers tugging me lightly. "Ryuu-kun! Come with us over there, we want to see the plants." They said, laughing I nodded my head, letting them drag me. It was then, that I felt eyes on me and turned my head around, seeing Takashi, looking in my direction. I smiled at him, giving him a small wave as I was pulled back, I saw a small smile on his face before I turned around, to make sure I didn't trip. When we were at the plants we looked at them, and I pointed out the ones that I knew, telling the girls a brief history of them. My sisters love plants, as do I, so we often studied them in our spare time, and tried growin a few as well.

It was when I heard Haruhi's happy voice that I turned, looking at her. She was surrounded by lots of shellfish, and I knew that, tonight dinner was going to be something amazing. I didn't like seafood as much as Haruhi, but I ate it none the less if it was out and cooked. Then the girls screamed as soon as they saw a bug. The girls around me looked confused, before screaming, for a spider had crawled up one of their legs. Kneeling down, I cupped the spider into my hands and chuckled softly as they trembled in fright. "It's alright, this little guy is harmless." I said with a smile as I walked over to the plants and placed it on one of the leafs before going over to Haruhi, who threw the centipede away.

Before I could say anything to her, the twins came up to us, placing their elbows on our shoulders. "We'll step back and assume you both are kind, bug-loving girls..." Hikaru said. "But couldn't you have thrown that bug away more gently Haruhi?" Kaoru said with a sigh. I rolled my eyes at them, before shrugging them off. "Don't worry. It won't die from a throw like that." Haruhi said blandly. Soon the girls came over to us, sayin how 'manly' we were. I wanted to laugh at that, and dismiss it. I could tell that Haruhi wasn't up for this as she looked at me, silently asking me to do something about them.

Turning to the girls, I smiled at them, and held up our hands. "Iie, it's just something we're use to. Centipedes and spiders just don't faze us, besides their harmless themselves, and won't hurt you." I said, which just caused the girls to squeal more. I heard Haruhi sigh heavily behind me as I looked at her with a bland look. "Well you're not helping either you know..." I mumbled to her, making her sigh again. "Really girls, this isn't anything special... we were just doing what we normally would." I said with a light laugh as they started talking to one another excitedly.

I lowered my head a bit before looking over at the twins and Tamaki, who was still holding a giant crab in his arms. They were talking, about something, but by the look on the twins faces, from what I could tell. Haruhi and I were going to become guinea pigs in something. Soon the twins were walking away from Tamaki, who immediately fell for their scheme. I mentally sighed at that before turning to the girls. I smirked a little bit and placed a hand on Haruhi's shoulder, giving it a pat as I walked away from the group, towards the trio. Seeing Kyoya coming up to them as well, his glasses giving off a glint, that I knew meant trouble.

"Allow me to give the winners a prize." I heard Kyoya say as he held up several pictures in both his hands, which I could only assume were of me and Haruhi. Soon Mitsukuni and Takashi joined them, and for a split second, I thought I saw a blush on his cheeks. Mitsukuni cheered, saying that they wanted in too as Tamaki went in front of the pictures, so the others couldn't see. "Well then, all members are participating." Kyoya said. I felt my eye twitch a bit at this as I continued my walk. "Demo Kyo-chan, how did you get those photos?" Mitsukuni asked just as I came up to them, snatching mine away.

"That's what I would like to know." I said blandly, taking a look at the pictures. They were of me when I was in my old high school, when I had long hair. One of them was in my school uniform, sitting in study hall with my fingers wrapped around my hair, pushing it back behind my ear. Another was in gym wear with my hair in two braided pigtails. The last one was when I was in a traditional kimono, my hair pulled up into ringlets. Rising my eyebrow at Kyoya I saw him smile as he took back the picture in my hand and placed them in his breast pocket. "Let's just say... I got them from two certain sources for now." He said, making my eye twitch.

"Fine, whatever. Just don't start flashing them around too often." I said with a sigh and a shake of my head. Turning to me, Kyoya gave me a smile. "Hai Ryuu-sempai." He said, making me sigh again. "You should stop doing that. You'll break a mirror someday." I mumbled, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my shorts as I went to free Haruhi from the mob of girls.

It was a while later, that the girls got over how 'manly' we were, and started talking to us about something random, I can't really remember for I was too busy trying to make sure my sisters didn't get lost or in trouble. The twins came up to us, saying how they found a really cool place, that they wanted to show us. Shrugging a bit, Haruhi, my sisters, a few of our clients and I nodded our heads, letting the twins lead us to the place. It was dark, and a little damp, but nothing at all scary over all.

"This place... is actually a haunted spot where even the locals don't dare to come to." Kaoru said as walked into the mouth of cave. "This cave doesn't show itself except for when the tide is out." Hikaru continued as we walked deeper in. Looking around, I thought it was actually quite nice, and wondered how deep it led, and if it went further into the ground. "Despite this, there have been many people who have drowned here, and apparently, their grudged drag people that pass by into the darkness." Kaoru finished. The girls that came with us, were shivering, holding onto each other in fright. My sisters were hanging onto the story with anticipation, wanting to hear more. I leaned over to Haruhi with a slight smirk on my face. "Looks to be a nice place to camp in huh?" I said with a slight tease as she gave me an unamused look.

Hikaru then pointed over Kaoru's shoulder, saying what that was. A puppet came out with glowing purple eyes, laughing almost madly, making the girls scream. Lookin over my shoulder, I stepped forwards to avoid getting a rubber hand placed on my shoulder. My sisters were giggling at this, and I knew they wanted to see more, even though their hands were intertwined. They loved getting scared. I watched as Haruhi looked at the hand, asking if this was some sort of fear trial. I chuckled a bit as they twins looked at us unamused. "Aren't you two scared of ghosts at all?" Kaoru asked. "Well, I've never actually seen one." She said making me laugh now. "Ghost stories are only good around the campfire in the middle of the night, this is nothing compared to what I'm use to." I said with a slight smirk.

Renji-san was good at ghost stories. He made the so believable that he's actually scared my sisters and I. Soon we left the cave, the twins havin failed in their scare trail. Haruhi and I were soon pulled over by Mitsukuni who got us into the back of one of the special police force of Kyoya's. Giving them the signal, they lowered the back of it, enveloping the three of us in complete darkness. I walked over to one of the sides, lightly tapping it and sighed. Mitsukuni then started to cry, for it was dark, and cramped. I went over to him and picked him up, lightly runnin my hand through his hair.

"Iie Mitsukuni, it's alright." I said as I walked over to the door, and knocked on it. "I think we're done in here." I called out to them. Soon the back was lifted up, and light entered the back truck. Soon Mitsukuni was better and dried his tears up. I gave him a smile and nodded to him. "You alright now?" I asked curiously. He nodded his head and sniffed a bit. "Arigato Makoto." He said as he walked over to the others. I let out a bit of a sigh as Haruhi and I walked along the beach, only to be stopped by the sharp end of a harpoon. I looked up at Takashi as Haruhi looked at the harpoon, and couldn't help but smirk a little at the pun of this. "Nice harpoon Takashi." I said, he just blinked at us, as he looked back at the harpoon. Both Haruhi and I weren't afraid of sharp pointy objects.

It seemed that they were giving up a bit, which I was glad for. Takara and Yuzuki started climbing up a cliff with some of the other girls, and I followed, not wanting them to get hurt. I looked over at the sea, and felt my eyes sparkle as the sun began to set. "Ah... it's beautiful up here." I said with my sisters next to me. They agreed fully and Yuzuki took out her camera, taking a picture of the sunset as she turned to me. "Can you paint this when we get some?" she asked, her eyes bright with joy. I smiled at her and nodded my head. "Hai! This will be beautiful up above the couch neh?" I said, in which Takara soon agreed. I heard the girls call down to Haruhi, telling her that the wind felt great, and then my sisters saying that so was the view.

Before Haruhi joined us, I heard a voice coming from behind saying that there were some chicks, and quickly turned to see two guys. I stood in front of them, looking as they came towards us, holding a beer can in one hand. They were obviously drunk as they said to themselves of how lucky they were. Obviously, they hadn't seen me yet as they stepped closer to the girls.

I soon stepped in front of the girls, holding my hands out in front of me. "Gomen guys, but these girls are off limits." I said, my eyes narrowing dangerously. "What's this? You can't have all of these lovelies for yourself." The leader said. He was tall, taller than me by about three inches, while his friend was about my height. "I said their not up for grabs." I said a bit more forcefully. Before I could react, the guy took hold of Yuzuki, who let out a scream. I growled at this and punched the guy across the face. "Let. Her. Go." I growled, as I pushed Yuzuki behind me. Eyes, flashing he picked me up by the scruff of my shirt, lifting me off the ground.

"Makoto!" I heard Haruhi yell and threw her bucket of sea creatures at the guy, who dropped me in pain, and turned to her. "What's this? Another girly boy?" he snapped angrily. I turned to the other guy, who had his arms around the other girls and kicked him in the side, makin him let go of them. "Girls, run." I told them as the other guy went to leap at me, to which I dodged. "Now!" I snapped, not wanting them to get hurt. The only ones who didn't do anything were my sisters, who were frozen were they were. Before I could get to them, the other guy had them, making them let out a scream. "Come any closer, and you won't have any girls to protect." He said. "Mako-nee!" they called, tears forming in their eyes.

My heart clenched in my chest as I slowly tried to step towards him, to which he tightened his grip around my sisters. I cursed under my breath and looked over at Haruhi, looking over my sisters, I promised them that I would get to them, then ran at the guy who held my friend. She was getting closer to the ledge of the cliff, when I jumped at the guy, colliding with his back just as he pushed my friend off the cliff. "HARUHI!" I yelled in fright, and tried to reach her, only to have the guy flip me into the ocean as well. "Damn punks!" he growled.

I grabbed onto the ledge while tryin to grab onto Haruhi, but I was too late. I then saw someone dive in, recognizing them as Tamaki and let out a sigh as my body hit the side of the cliff. I gritted my teeth as I tried pulling myself up, which didn't go over so well, for the rock crumbled underneath my hands. Taking in a deep breath I pulled myself up once more, only to once again slip as the rock crumbled. Before I could fall into the water, a hand shot out, grabbing my arm, and pulled me up. I looked up at my rescuer, and saw that it was Takashi.

Before I could say anything, he turned away from me, making me furrow my brows a bit. My sister ran to me, clinging to me tightly as I watched the twins beat the boys up. "Are you two okay?" I asked worriedly, hugging them tightly. "Hai Mako-nee. Are you okay though? You fell off the cliff!" they asked worriedly, making me smile at them. "Hai, hai, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about." I told them, makin them frown this time, confusing me as they held onto me tighter. We walked down to the shore, waitin for Tamaki and Haruhi to surface.

I felt a cold vibe coming from everyone, and wondered what we did wrong. I mentally sighed at this as we were joined by the rest of the club. Mitsukuni, and Takashi weren't lookin at me, neither were the twins, Kyoya was busy with something else as Tamaki walked onto the shore carrying Haruhi. After handing her a towel, Kyoya explained that the girls were escorted back to the hotel, and that the males had left their ID's and had left the premises, and that a doctor was coming, for both Haruhi and I to be checked over.

I snorted at this and crossed my arms over my chest, as Haruhi frowned. Both of us stating that we didn't need a doctor, and that we were perfectly fine. This was when Tamaki started scolding us, asking us what we were doing, going up against males like that. Before Haruhi could respond I did. "Tamaki, it doesn't matter if we're girls or not. At the time, the others were in danger, and we did what we had to, to make sure they were safe." I said, and then let Haruhi take over, for I felt two eyes burrowing deeply into my head. I turned around and saw that it was Takashi. My eyes narrowed at this, and I saw he was very displeased at what had taken place.

Getting fed up with the looks, I turned around, pushing my way pass everyone as Tamaki and Haruhi argued. "Don't think I wouldn't do the same thing again. Just remember, we may be girls, but we're a lot tougher than we look." I stated then walked away, picking my book bag and left up to the villa. I could tell that this would be a long night, for Takashi wasn't going to be acknowledge me, until I apologised. How I knew this? His eyes told it all when I gazed into them. I heard footsteps behind and knew that it was either Haruhi or Tamaki.

I looked back briefly and saw that it was Tamaki. I sighed a bit, but didn't speak to him as he got into step with me. We were silent the whole way back, not looking at each other, and not talkin to each other. When we got back to the Villa, we went our separate ways, to our own rooms. When I entered mine, I let out a sigh, locking the door. I went over to the bed and stared at my bag, almost in distaste. My hands clenching tightly as I thought back to the cliff. I was afraid of the girls getting hurt while I was there, of if something worse happened to them.

Letting out a sigh, I brought my bag with me to the bathroom, deciding on having a bath before I left my room. I turned the faucets on, after plugging the tub and looked into the mirror. I had a few scratches from when I fell into the side of the cliff, but nothing to serious that I could. My fingers were a little numb, but they would come back to life soon. I sighed as I stripped, folding my clothes up as I walked to the bathtub, going in it when I felt that it was full enough. The steam from the water made my dry skin damp as I sank deeper into the water.

I wondered how badly the night could get, I knew how stubborn Haruhi was, and my sisters and I were just as, if not more than she was. I heard a knock on my door about a half an hour later as I was getting dress. I sighed as I pulled on the lilac dress that, no doubt my sisters had switched into my bag. It went down to my knees, and with lace bordering in the front and along the bottom. It was also spaghetti strap, hugging my chest snugly. It pinched at the waist a bit before flaring outwards. A single silk ribbon, in a slightly darker purple, wrapped around where it pinched a bit, and tied behind my back. Something I didn't doubt Daichi-tou-san asked them to do. Getting out of the bathroom, I dumped my bag beside the bed and walked over to the door, running a hand through my hair as I opened it up.

I blinked a bit as I saw the twins there, standing with a grin. "Ryuu-sempai, come on supper's ready!" they cheered, as they linked my arms with theirs, and walked me down the hallway. "We like your dress. Is it really yours?" they asked making me roll my eyes once more. "Hai, it's something my tou-san and imouto's try to get me to wear all the time." I said with a slight shrug. They grinned at that, saying that they should bug my sisters more often to make me wear clothes like this. I felt my irritation at the male race simmer a bit as we entered the dining hall, where it seemed that Mitsukuni and Takashi had prepared the meal.

I took a seat as my sisters sat down across from me both giving me grins of satisfaction as I smiled at them, we were alright now. I lazily closed my eyes as I looked outside, I could tell that a storm was coming and I wanted to watch it, I remembered that I saw a gazebo outside, and decided to head there during the storm. Mitsukuni asked Takashi to get Haruhi, while Tamaki was in his corner of woe. When Takashi was gone, Mitsukuni came up to me, saying how nice I looked. I smiled at him, though, it wasn't a full one, and thanked him. When Haruhi entered along with Takashi, she got praising for the pink dress that she wore.

Soon we were all seated around the table, and the silence was almost suffocating. I was seated beside Takashi, who was seated next to Mitsukuni, who sat beside Haruhi, who was beside Tamaki. Most of the tension was coming from the latter two, as my sisters and I ate silently, not waitin for anyone else. We could hear the conversation well, and knew it wasn't going to end on a good note. Looking over my sisters, the three of us sighed heavily, hearing Haruhi crack open the crab legs on her plate. "She's going to make herself sick." Takara mumbled with a sigh.

I had to push my plate away as I was getting sick from listen and watching Haruhi eat. "If you will excuse me, I'm heading back to my room." I said and stood up, leaving the room. My sisters knew that I hardly ate when I was upset. Instead of eating continuously with anger, I starved myself, as seen with my barely touched supper. I could feel Takashi's eyes borrowing into my back as I closed the doors behind me, and made my way back to the room I was staying in. Once there, I went over to my bag and pulled out my water bottle, takin a deep gulp to help keep me refreshed. I leaned against the window, watching as the trees started swayed in the blowing wind.

"It's going to be an amazing show tonight!" I whispered, a small smile playing on my lips. 'I just hope... that things will have calmed down and turned right before the rays of sun shine through.' I thought sighing with my eyes turning downcast.


	18. Chapter 18

I don't know how long I had been, just standing in my room watching the storm clouds roll in around the villa. I heard someone come into my room, but I just thought it was one of my sisters who wanted to talk to me. I had kept the lights off, it gave the room a more environmental, calming feelin to it. As I was going to turn to the person who entered, who was had been quiet since they closed the door, I felt hands on my hips, in a tight, but relaxed grip. My breath caught in my chest as I turned my head, and saw Kyoya, which surprised me. I didn't hear him come over, he was so quiet, but that may also be because I had been preoccupied with my thoughts.

"What do you want? Get your hands off of me." I said, not in the mood to play one of his games. He pulled me against him, his grip on my hips tightening a bit. "Do you know how much trouble you caused with the stunt you pulled earlier Makoto-sempai?" he asked, his voice quiet and cold against my ear as he leaned in closer. "We have to send flowers to all of the girls, as well as a formal apology for what happened." He continued after I refused to answer."What's your point?" I asked a tad harshly. "You can pay it back. But there's a little catch. It won't be added to your debt, it will be paid with your body." He whispered, his fingers moving upwards.

I knew what he was trying to do, and as I moved away from him, turning to slap him. He grabbed my wrist, pushing me against the window as a low rumble from the sky was heard. "Do you really think you can stand a chance against a male in this type of environment?" he asked leaning in close to me. I smirked a bit, my body now relaxing against the window. "You wouldn't force yourself on me Kyo-Kyo. You may talk big, but your eyes are what speak the truth. I understand I worried everyone, but I don't regret my actions." I said, starring back him.

He took this time to study my eyes, weighing the options that were before him. He then smiled at me, and took a step back, releasing my arm. "So I see. You're a hard person to figure out Ryuu-sempai." He said pushing up his glasses a bit. I crossed my arms over my chest as I walked over to my bag, pulling out some pop, unscrewing the lid, I walked over to Kyoya and poured it over him. "I may be hard to figure out Kyo-Kyo, but if you ever touch me in that type of manner again, I will be forced to do more than make you sticky." I said, not pleased with being manhandled like that.

He chuckled a bit as he took off his glasses, wiping them. "I understand Ryuu-sempai. I will be more careful with my future actions." He said, as he replaced his glassed. "Good, now go scare Haruhi, I'm sure she's about the chuck up everything that she's eaten." I mused, motioning to the door. He didn't say anything as he walked. I looked out the window again, wrapping my arms around my waist tightly as he opened the door. "Oh, and Ryuu-sempai, there's no need to tell Mori-sempai about this right?" He added as he closed the door behind him after I nodded.

I hugged myself and squeezed my eyes closed, taking in a deep breath. Shivering, I frowned at what had happened just minutes ago. For a split second, before I turned around, I had thought that it was Takashi, who had entered my room and hand placed his hands on my hips. Sighing heavily and I shook the thoughts out of my head and went back to the window, looking out of it as lightening started flashing in the distance. I forced myself to smile as the rumbling thunder grew louder, and decided that it was time to head outside. When I opened the door, all of the lights were out, and I took that as a sign that everyone had gone to bed.

Walking out of my room, I closed the door, and made my way to the side doors, which led outside to the garden, with an overview of the beach. When I stepped on the tiles in the kitchen a large flash of lightening flashed, illuminating the entire kitchen and the backyard. I smiled a bit more as I neared the doors, and opened them up. When I walked out, it started to rain. Lightly at first, but the more I walked the heavier it fell. I tilted my head back, and couldn't help but laugh a bit. I loved the rain, especially when it stormed. There was nothing better than getting soaked to the bone while enjoying the coolness that the rain presented.

The more I walked, the calmer I started to feel. My hand subconsciously reached up to my neck, where the purple dragon pendant was. I always had it with me, no matter where I was. My hand clasped around it as I walked over to the gazebo, and walked underneath it. I shivered, from being cold now, as I was sheltered from the rain. I walked over to one of the railing and sat on it, my feet dangling down, the rain lightly hitting them. I took the necklace off, placing it in my hand as I gazed down at it. Still remembering when Takashi handed it to me. With my other hand I gently traced the curve of its neck and the side of its wing, feeling how the creator had designed it.

Thunder crashed around me suddenly, causing me to jump a bit, and thus fumbling to keep my balance. Sadly though, in my desperation not to fall, I accidently let go of the necklace, causin my eyes to widen. Jumping down, I got onto my hands and knees, trying to search for the necklace. "No, no, no, no! I can't believe this happened." I whined, as I felt through the soaked grass. "Come on... where are you?" I was desperate to find it. It was the second most treasured necklace that I had, next to the one Daichi-tou-san gave me.

"Makoto?" A deep voice said, calmly. I didn't look up as I scrambled around on the ground, looking for the pendant. "Not right now... I need to find my pendant..." I said, I could hear how pathetic I sounded, but at the moment I didn't care. "What pendant?" the voice asked me, and I could hear curiosity in it. "The one Taka-kun gave me... I accidently dropped it when the thunder struck." I whined, when my fingers came across the cool metal of the necklace. Releasing a joyous and triumphant shout I sat back on my knees, unaware of the mud that I had accumulated in my search. I looked up at the pendant, smiling broadly, so happy that I had found it.

Soon I frowned though, seeing that it was covered in mud. Pouting slightly, I wiped off the pendant as well as the chain on my dress, trying to get it cleaned again. I was still unaware that eyes were watching me, in both amusement and concern as I sneezed. Rubbing my nose a bit I went back to the task at hand with concentration. Soon though, I brought back to my senses when I felt a pair of arms picking me up, cradling me against a chest. I finally looked up and had to blink a few times, to make sure I was seeing right before blushing brightly, from both embarrassment and the cold.

"T-Takashi?" I squeaked, my eyes most likely wide in surprise. He nodded his head and brought us back to the gazebo. He sat me down on the bench that was placed there, and which I didn't notice until then. He didn't say anything as he turned away, bending down to pick something up. It was at that moment, that I realized that he was shirtless, and in, what looked to be silk pyjama pants. I blushed a bit more as he turned around, a warm blanket in his arms, which he placed around my shoulders. Hugging the blanket to me, I looked down as he sat down beside me, most likely looking out at the storm. We were silent then, until I decided to break it.

"Takashi...?" I said quietly, he didn't answer right away, as I looked up, I could see that he was debating with himself, thinking on something long and hard. "Ah?" He asked, signally for me to continue when he looked over from the corner of his eye. I lowered my eyes again as I looked at the necklace, which was still clenched in my hand. "Gomen-nasai Takashi!" I said, going to the ground and bowing to him. "Gomen-nasai for making you worry, gomen for acting like a crude person... gomen..." I whispered the last word.

I wasn't sure how long we stayed this way. Him sitting on the bench looking at me, while I was on the ground, bowing to him and apologizing. "Makoto... come here." he said quietly, surprising me. I looked up at him as he stood, motioning for me to do the same. When I was standing, I was surprised to feel his arms wrap themselves around me tightly, and securely, pulling me to him. I closed my eyes, wrapping my own arms around him tightly. I felt him rest his head on top of mine, and we stayed like that.

"Don't put yourself in that situation again..." I heard him say quietly. "Hai Takashi. I promise that I won't." I whispered back to him, feeling his arms tighten around me a bit more. I pressed my face into his chest, feeling his natural body heat warm my now chilling one. I closed my eyes a bit, and heard him exhale deeply, signally that he was now content. I soon felt him pull back, makin me give out an instinctual sound of protest. Pouting up at him a bit, I slowly released my grip around him as he did to me. I thought he was going to go back inside, but instead took my hand which held the pendant in it, and motioned for me to turn around. Blinked a little I did so, gently dropping the blanket so it circled my shoulder blades.

I closed my eyes as soon as I felt his warm hands brush against my neck, causing goose bumps to surface, and the cool metal gently being placed back on my skin. I let out a content sigh as I heard the clasp closing, and the weight of the necklace hanging down once more. But before I could turn around and thank him, his arms circled around me again, this time, his breathing was deeper, as if he was getting tired, which I wouldn't blame him. Before I could say something though, I felt him nuzzle my neck, making my breath catch in my throat.

"T-Takashi... what... what are you doing?" I asked, my stuttering being evident from my surprise at his actions. "Call me Taka-kun again." He whispered, his grip around me tightening a bit more as he pulled me closer to him, causing me to tense. I wasn't use to him being this way. "Relax Mako-chan, everything will be fine." He whispered into my ear, his warm breath, making my face go red as he pulled me closer to him. "You smell like the rain and chocolate... that's a beautiful smell." He added, then he made me squeak in surprise as his lips brushed the side of my head. Before anything else could be said, I heard Mitsukuni running over to us. At the moment I thought that my heart was going to burst out of my chest, with how heavily it was beating.

"Takashi! You found Makoto!" he said happily as he, Kyoya, my sisters, and the twins coming over with umbrellas. I was suddenly feeling very cold, and pulled the blanket back over my shoulders, the lack of warmth from Takashi effecting me. I looked back at him, seeing that his brows were furrowed together in confusion as Mitsukuni came to us, and jumped up, giving me a hug. "We were so worry Makoto! You weren't in your room, when we wanted to come and see how you were doing!" he said, pouting at me. I looked at him softly, gently ruffling his hair. "Gomen Mitsukuni, minna. I didn't mean to worry you all so much." I said bowing to them after placing Mitsukuni down on the ground.

When I straightened up, they all smiled, well all but Kyoya, and told me that it was alright. Mitsukuni, then climbed up onto Takashi's back as he picks up the umbrella. "Neh, let's go see how Haru-chan and Tama-chan are doing." Mitsukuni said happily, causing me to raise an eyebrow. "You left them alone together?" I asked, my question, going out to Kyoya who just shrugged a bit, smirking over at me. "Hai, we felt that it was best that they realize that they were both wrong." He said with a nocturnal smile.

I couldn't help but chuckle at that and shake my head at the boy. We had a new understanding of each other, one that I could tell, would mean that the Club would regret it, if they made us angry. "Ah. Then we best make sure that nothing is wrong them hm?" I mused. With several nods, agreeing, we all left the gazebo. I was walking with Mitsukuni and Takashi, the latter, who seemed unaware of what he had done previously. I couldn't help but hold a secret smile to myself. One that treasured the closeness we have been sharing.

As soon as we got inside, the thunder crashed again, and I sneezed, pouting slightly. I was getting sick, I could tell straight away from how my head was starting to feel. 'But in all suckiness that it brings, I'm glad for it.' I thought with a smile. Kyoya seemed to notice that I was startin to get sick and suggested that we stopped by my room before going to where Haruhi and Tamaki were. Agreeing to this, we put the umbrellas away and walked to where my room was. I walked in with my sisters, and closed the door, my sisters standing in front of it, 'guarding' it from any perverts, which made me laugh.

As I changed into the long sleeved nightgown, my sisters teased me about being with Takashi. I flushed and told them to shut up, and that they shouldn't be talking. I noticed the way they looked at Kyoya, and at Kaoru. This caused them to flush deeply, and promised that if I didn't say anything, that they wouldn't either. I smirked at this nodded , zipping my lips up, and had them do the same. Laughing a bit, I took a gulp of water and nodded to my sisters, who smiled back. They linked their arms with mine and led me out of the door.

Being greeted again by the club, the eight of us walked down the hall, being led by Kyoya, to where he left Tamaki and Haruhi. As we walked, the sky started to get clearer. We looked out the door and smiled at each other. "Looks like it's going to be a beautiful night after all neh?" I mused, and looked up at Takashi a bit with a smile. He was standing next to me and looked down, a small smile on his lips as well. "Ah." He agreed. As we walked, the twins and my sisters started to get worried.

"Are you sure it's alright to have left them together like this?" The twins asked with a bit of a sigh. "Un! You don't know if Tamaki-sempai is doing something inappropriate to her!" my sisters chipped in, causing me to and Kyoya to sigh a bit. "This is Tamaki we're talkin about. What kind of mistake do you expect him to make?" Kyoya asked, causing me to snort a bit. "Kyoya, do you realize what you just said?" I teased him as we stopped in front of the door.

He looked over at me, smirking a little. "You know exactly as I do Ryuu-sempai. That no matter what, the twins will make Haruhi turn on Tamaki." He said and I nodded. "Hai, hai, that is true." I agreed with a small laugh. The twins knocked on the door, then opened it, letting Tamaki know that we were coming in. What we saw, I couldn't help but look away and cover my mouth, laughing a bit.

"See? If you put a blindfold on, you won't see it." Tamaki said to Haruhi, who was on her hands and knees with a blindfold over her eyes and ears. "And if you put earplugs in, you won't hear it." This caused to start laughing a bit more at the twisted words he was using. Haruhi, seemed not to understand this until the twins reacted. I felt eyes on me and I looked up, seeing Takashi. Laughing a bit more, I just smiled at him, finding this whole situation funny now.

Standing next to him, I lightly took his hand in my own, most likely surprising him, as I felt his eyes come back to me, before I felt them curl his hand around mine as we watched our club members interact. 'I think... I'll actually miss this once I'm gone. University won't be as fun as this.' I thought, chuckling lightly. After the twins, Mitsukuni and my sisters harassed Tamaki, calling him a pervert and such words, we all went to bed.

As soon as I got to my room, I removed my slippers and went to the bathroom, taking a cloth I started to better clean my pendant. I wanted it to shine like it did before. As I did, I thought I felt Takashi behind me, his warm breath against my ear, and his lips brushing against my temple. I blushed deeply and shook my head, knowing that it will be a while before I get over that. Sighing in defeat, and with my pendant clean, I walked back to the room and laid down in bed, starring out the window, where a full moon presented itself behind the disappearing clouds. "Takashi... what are you doing to me?" I asked in a whisper while my eyes started their decent into dreams.

The next morning came too quickly for my liking. First of all, my sisters had bombarded my room, waking me up from a pleasant dream, by dragging me out of bed. After kicking them out, I took a quick shower and changed into the spare t-shirt and shorts that I had brought, putting my dirty ones back in the bag. After I was done, I walked out of the room, my bags over my shoulders and my hand over my mouth, silencing the yawn that was coming out.

Walking into the kitchen, I made myself some tea before walking into the dining room, where everyone else was. There was a tray of fruit for us to eat as we may, but most of it was already gone. So I once I finished my tea, I washed the cup, and put it back before heading outside. The twins had Haruhi on their side, which was no surprise, and Tamaki wasn't pleased about this, as he shouted at the twins and at Haruhi to believe him.

"Maa, maa, it's too early to be making so much racket." I said with a sigh, yawning again. The twins and my sisters agreed with this as we all entered the limo, I was sitting across from Haruhi, already leaning against the window, yawning. My sisters said some comment to Tamaki, makin him yell once more. When everyone, minus Tamaki was in, we started driving off. It was Kyoya's 'punishment', as he said, to making him run a few miles before we stopped, and let him in.

Once again, I was seated next to Takashi with Mitsukuni, Kyoya and Takara taking the rest of the seat. Tamaki was sitting next to Kaoru, who was next to Yuzuki with Hikaru in between her and Haruhi. The limo ride back was long, and I ended up falling asleep this time as well, but instead of against the window, I fell asleep against Takashi. When we got back to Ouran, I had woken up, against him. No one said anything, but I could hear my sister giggling at something. After saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways. Walking home with Haruhi and my sisters was quiet, even though I kept sneezing.

I knew that as soon as I got home, I would wash all of our clothing and make myself some tea before relaxing in my bed. But despite all of the things I would have to do, my mind was still on one person. It bothered me a bit with who he acted, it was so, unlike him. It was, I admit, a little scary. Soon we were home, and I plugged in the kettle right away as my sisters and I changed into lounging clothing. Taking the laundry, I sorted it up, and placed them in baskets.

Soon the kettle sounded and I made my way to the kitchen, taking out my favourite green tea, and making myself a cup to enjoy. "Yes, it was definitely a good night." I mused. "And hopefully a good coming days after I get better." I added under my breath, as I started to cough a bit. "Stupid rain..." I mumbled, but I couldn't help but smile. 'But... it would be a thunderstorm, I'll least likely forget.'


	19. Chapter 19

When the week started up again, I was stuck at home with a cold, not that I was surprised or anything, I never did have the best immune system in the family. I started feeling better towards the middle of the week, when I had exams due, and went to school. The fresh air felt nice in my lungs as I walked to school. I was heading a bit earlier than I normally did, wanting to get to school so I could get a head start on my missed exams.

Walking into the school, I was greeted by some of my fellow classmates as well as a few of my customers as I walked up to my classroom. Once there, I was greeted by one of my teachers, who asked me to get started on my exams, which I readily agreed to. This is the position that Takashi and Mitsukuni found me in when they entered the classroom. Me sitting in my desk, looking over my exams, that I had just finished, before piling them together and taking them up to the teacher.

With me still being sick, I wasn't fully aware of my surroundings, so when Mitsukuni hopped onto my back suddenly, I couldn't help but jump a bit in surprise before wrapping my arms to support Mitsukuni as I let out a sigh, turning to look at him.

"Mitsukuni, you startled me." I said with a sigh as my friend wrapped his arms around my neck hugging me. "Gomen Makoto! Takashi and I saw you, and we couldn't help it!" he said, burying his head into the back of my neck. I lightly patted his head with a small chuckle. "Iie, Mitsukuni, it's alright. I'm just not fully over my cold, so I didn't expect this." I said softly, not wanting him to feel bad.

I felt hi nod his head happily and jump off my back, and took my hand, pulling me over to where Takashi was. He was standing next to his desk, looking out the window as I was pulled over. He looked over at us when we were close, and I could see a small smile on his lips. Mitsukuni sat on top of his desk, swinging his legs as I took a seat at my desk.

"How are you feeling Makoto?" Takashi asked as our classmates started coming in. I gave him a small shrug as I covered my mouth while I coughed. "Better, but it will be another two days before it's gone." I told him with a smile. He nodded at this and soon our teacher, who had left while I got caught up in my exams, came in and we took our seats.

The morning passed uneventfully and I was looking through the window, listen to my classmates talk about the campus-wide exhibition event for the cultural clubs, that was taking place in the next two days. I found it interesting that they also invited thespian groups, as well as choirs from other school to join in. It got me wondering, which school would be coming this year. Leaning back in my chair, I looked out the window, seeing how beautiful it was. Smiling a bit, I stood up, deciding to get some fresh air, I told Takashi and Mitsukuni this, so they wouldn't get worried and walked out of the classroom.

Along the way, I met up with Haruhi, who was talking with two of her classmates. I smiled at them, giving them a wave as I saw Haruhi let out a smile. "Makoto-senpai, are you feeling well enough to be coming here?" she asked, with worry. I laughed softly and waved off her concern a bit. "Hai, hai, Haru-kun, I'm fine enough." I said, and then bent over a bit as a cough racked my body. "Okay, I'm not perfect, but still well enough." I laughed softly with a bit of a strained smile. I knew I needed something warm to drink.

Haruhi told me that she had been 'selected' to go out and get some more instant coffee, since we were almost out in the club. I told her that I'd join her and soon we left the school grounds. We walked down the street to the nearest store, which also happened to have a coffee shop right next to it. I told Haruhi that I would meet up with her after I got my drink, and we went separate ways. As I walked into the coffee shop, I took a deep breath, inhaling the bitter aroma of freshly ground coffee, something that I missed when Daichi-tou-san left.

I went up to the counter, ordering an espresso, paid then waited for it to be made. As I waited, I began wondering if I'd see Renji's son, Shun again. For it had been about a two months since I saw him last. He was a year older than me, and was in university already, taking a course in business. Renji had adopted Shun when he was baby, for Renji had always been homosexual. Shun took after his father, with curly chestnut brown hair, a semi tanned complexion, and appealing light blue eyes, he was, what most girls would kill over to have as his own. The only thing was, that Shun was bisexual, from what I knew, but he loved his father dearly, and got along with my father and my sisters.

Once my espresso was done, I thanked the clerk and took a sip, letting out a sigh as the warm liquid rolled down my throat. I went into the supermarket and easily found Haruhi, grabbing the extra bag that she got. She smiled at me gratefully as I smiled back at her.

"Do you think anything interesting will happen these next few days?" I asked her as we made our way back to the school.

She shrugged a bit, not really caring which made me chuckle. I smiled though and sipped my drink soothingly. It was nice outside, but there was a bit of a cool wind that made the trees sway as we walked back to the school.

"You know it's never quiet with the Host Club. I'm sure something will come up." She mumbled with a sigh at the end.

"That may be true, but you can't say that, that's a bad thing." I mused as we reached the school gates. "Shall we go through the back?" I asked curiously.

"Un, we should. Would be easier to get through the crowd." Haruhi said as we walked through the back gardens.

I thought I heard someone behind us as we walked, but paid little mind to it. I figured that it was just a student who was going somewhere. As Haruhi and I walked, I was under the impression that something was going to happen soon when a shiver ran its way up my spine. We were both lost in our thoughts a dangerous thing from time to time for us, for we completely zone out the world. I was thinking back to when we went to the beach, during the thunder storm.

Somehow, Haruhi and I got separated in the gardens while we walked, something that happened often when we weren't paying attention. I didn't realize that there was a banana peel in front of me, I only truly noticed when I slipped, and started falling backwards. I let out a gasp of surprise as I fell, for it was already too late for me to catch my balance. But before I could fall onto the ground, strong arms caught me, and a chuckle reached my ears.

"Neh, Mako-chan. We don't need you to sprain your ankle again do we?" A familiar voice teased me as I was hugged from behind. I looked up in surprise, and couldn't help but laugh when I saw Shun. I spun around hugged him tightly as he did the same and started twirling me around a bit.

"Shun-kun! What are you doing here?" I asked once I was placed on my feet again. He took the bag of instant coffee from me, holding it in one of his arms as he wrapped the other one around me.

I looked up at him, for he was about as tall as Takashi, and took in what he was wearing. He was in his university uniform, which consisted of black pants, a white buttoned up shirt and a tanned blazer with the emblem on the left breast.

"I wanted to visit you, Taka-chan and Yuzu-chan. It's been a while since I've see you all, and I missed you." He said and proceeded to pout down at me, causing me to laugh and nudge his side a bit.

"You know you're welcomed over at the apartment anytime that you wanted." I stated as we started walking around.

He let out a huff and rolled his eyes, before winking at me. "I know that, but this way, I can surprise all three of you at once, and I can threaten any guy in this 'club' of yours away from trying to date you." He added with a laugh.

I flushed at what he said, and instead of answering, I took a sip of my espresso. I felt his blue eyes lock onto me in suspicion, and before I could divert the conversation, he stopped us, and got in front of me, bending down to look at me straight in the eyes.

"Alright, Mako-chan, who is he?" he asked seriously, making me gulp and advert my eyes from him.

"Morinozuka Takashi..." I murmured, fidgeting a bit. I could feel his eyes start to glitter in mischief, as he was back at my side, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Let me meet this 'Morinozuka Takashi'. I want to see what he'll do if we're together." Shun said with a chuckle, that I knew meant no good.

"Shun-kun!" I whined as I led him up to the third music room. I had no choice in this matter, for Shun was going to test Takashi's feelings, a lot more than Daichi-tou-san would.

"Tut-tut Mako-chan. If Daichi-kun won't go protective father on you. Then I have the right as your unofficial brother to see if he will try to 'win' you from me." Shun stated simply, as if it was the naturalist thing to do.

As we got closer to the club room, I saw a commotion going on in front of it. I couldn't help but tilt my head a bit seeing three girls in the uniforms for another school, one with short brown hair holding Haruhi, and the rest of the club dressed up as knights. The three girls were caressing Haruhi like some sort of... You know what, I'm not even going to go there. It was disturbing to watch as is. Tilting my head a bit I walked with Shun up behind the woman and blinked in confusion.

"Ano... what's going on?" I asked, making everyone turn to me. The brown haired girl looked at me, lilies appearing around her as she gazed at me.

"Another beautiful girl arrives. Look at her hair, it shines like the embers of a burning fire and her eyes sparkle like the leaves after a heavy rainfall." She said, making me and Shun blink. We looked at each other before looking back at the girls.

Shun then pulled me to him with his arms wrapped around me possessively. "Mine." He stated at the girls, who just sighed and went back to complimenting Haruhi on her skin, which snapped Tamaki, who was wearing white, red and gold armour, into action, as he ran towards them.

"Don't be touching my Haruhi without my permission!" he yelled, making me sigh. I felt dark eyes on Shun and I, making me turn to look at Takashi, who was wearing black armour, and saw that he was glowering at Shun, who just tightened his grip around me, no doubt having a smirk on his face.

Before anything could be said, Tamaki was punched back over to the club, with tears streaming down his face, while the rest tried to comfort him, not really succeeding. Takashi was holding Tamaki's Kuma-kun, a brown bear, Kyoya was holding an ice cream cone, Mitsukuni was holding his Usa-chan, and the twins were holding a flag and balloons.

"This is the club you're in?" Shun whispered into my ear, making me sigh and nod my head, which caused him to start petting my hair in pity while Kyoya asked them if they were from St. Lobelia's school, which, from what I had heard, was an all girl school.

Soon the three confirmed that note, and started to introduce themselves. The brown hair girl was named Amakusa Benio, the blonde haired girl was named Maihara Chizuru, and the small girl with them was named Tsuwabuki Hinako. The three of them made up the White Lily Society of St. Lobelia Girls' Academy, which was also known as the Zuka Club.

This seemed to have shocked the Host Club, for Tamaki fainted and the twins started laughing hysterically. I couldn't help but sigh at this as I tried to get Shun's arms away from him, but he just kept holding on tighter. Soon though, Renge's voice ran through the club room, making me groan as I slumped against Shun. I wasn't sure how much more my head could take of this nonsense.

Renge soon started explaining what the Zuka club was about. I tuned most of it out. As Renge explained, the rest of the Host Club changed back into their uniforms as the Zuka Club put in their two cents. Shun was sitting on a chair with me permanently attached to him. He felt very threatened by the Zuka club, and after knowing him for the amount of time that our father's had been together, he was going to stay close to me, until those three were gone, and that he had Takashi prove himself.

The twins were playing a video game, Mitsukuni watching, Kyoya reading a book and Takashi practicing Kendo, all were bored. I think Benio started going on about how she couldn't believe that Haruhi and I were forced into this club, and how it was against women's rights or something like that. I didn't really pay attention for I had started hacking again and Shun took me into the kitchen so I could make myself something warm to drink.

"You shouldn't be at school if you're still sick like that Mako-chan." Shun scolded me as he leaned against the counter, watching as I made myself some special tea, for whenever I, or my sisters were sick. It was a special brew that Daichi-tou-san made us when we were younger.

Haruhi soon came in with a sigh and saw us. Shun waved at her with a smile, which she returned with a pleasant nod of her head. Haruhi had met Shun a few times when he was over for a visit. She then started making coffee, telling us what had happened when we left.

"This is going to be troublesome you know." I mumbled quietly as I drank my tea, leaning against the counter with Shun readily beside me.

"I know, but with this club, there isn't anything else you can do." She said and as soon as the coffee was done, she went back out with three cups of coffee, followed by Shun and I. I saw the girls from Lobelia talk with Haruhi and looked over at Tamaki, who was starting to rise. He then ran over to them, mentioning something about Adam and Eve. I shook my head a bit as Shun and I walked over to the rest of the club.

"Ryuu-sempai, how are you feeling?" Kyoya asked me, making me shrug.

"She's sick. I cannot believe you would allow someone as sick as her to attend club duties, with the risk of getting the others sick." Shun scolded before I could say anything.

I shot Shun a look, to which he ignored, for he started a staring contest with Takashi. But before I could explain to Kyoya, I froze along with everyone else. It appears that Benio took a great liking to Haruhi, and stated that she would take her out of the Host Club and transfer her to Lobelia so she could be a part of the Zuka club.

'Haruhi... leave the Host Club?' I thought with a frown.

When Haruhi tried to justify the perks of being in the club, everything just went downhill. I pressed a hand to my head, sighing loudly and was about the leave when my ears picked up on what Kyoya said about making money off our customers.

"Oh look Haruhi, the mechanical pencil you used has been auctioned off for 30,000 yen. Ah, and Ryuu-sempai's keychain has been auctioned off for 35,000 yen." Kyoya said, which made me almost spit out my tea as I walked over to Kyoya's lap top.

And there it was, my favourite keychain. It was one that my Okaa-san gave me when I was little. It was a green frog that was holding some cherries. It wasn't anything special, but it meant a lot to me, and I had thought I'd lost it when obviously it was taken from me. My eyes saddened at that, and I felt Shun wrap his arms around me and pull me away from them before I could either explode or break down. My sisters decided to come in at that moment, and as soon as they saw Shun, they ran over and hugged him tightly, before they saw my face and asked what had happened.


	20. Chapter 20

"I, too, shall excuse myself for today." I heard Haruhi say, her voice hard after the Lobelia girls said that they would come back for her, and me as well, to hear our answers. Soon Haruhi left and when asked if I wanted to go as well, I nodded my head, my bangs hiding the emotions that turned over inside of me.

"I, will be taking my leave as well..." I said coarsely, I could feel Takashi's eyes on me the entire time, his still narrowed at Shun. "Yuzu-chan, Taka-chan, you two are welcomed to stay here with these swindlers. Shun-kun... can we?" I said quietly while looking up at Shun a bit.

My back was to the club, and I could feel two eyes burning into my back as Shun led me out of the club room, my sisters following in tow. We left the school in silence and went home. Soon I changed into some sweats and a tank top before being seated on the couch. Shun was at my side, trying to get my mind off the fact that the Host Club were being idiots again. My sisters were out with their old friends, with promise of pizza and pop for supper.

"Maybe you need a day off Mako-chan. A day to just get away from it all." Shun said softly, draping his arm around my shoulders.

"No Shun-kun," I said with a small sigh. "I think, what I really could use is a walk through the park. Will you join me?" I asked looking up at him.

If anyone saw us, they would think of us as a couple with how we acted around each other. Shun was protective, possessive, kind, caring, always good for a laugh, strong, gentle and more. He would be the perfect boyfriend, for any guy or girl, but he was like MY older brother. One that I never had, and never thought I would have.

"Alright, a walk it is. Come on, I'll treat you to some ice cream too." He said, getting up and picked me up as well, making me pout.

"Put me down Shun! Come on, let me walk myself." I said squirming.

Laughing, Shun put me down on my feet and I slipped on my flip flops, grabbing a sweater in case I got cold. Soon we left the apartment and walked down to the park. As we walked, I couldn't help but think of when Takashi walked me home, that one night. And when we shared our first actual hug, soon I felt my cheeks warming up at that memory. Shun took noticed and placed a hand over my forehead, under my bangs surprising me.

"Hmm, not a fever, and you only have symptoms of a cold. Huh, must be someone else who has you all flustered up." He teased, making me hit him in the chest.

"Shun-kun! Be quiet!" I said, my cheeks heating up some more.

"So? Is it the guy from earlier? The tall one?" He asked knowingly and I knew that my cheeks were flushed brightly.

"Be quiet Shun or else you're sleeping on the couch!" I threatened with a laugh. He already knew that I wasn't that serious.

As we continued walking I felt eyes on me, causing me to turn my head a bit as Shun talked, trying to spy the eyes that were spying on me. As my eyes swept through the trees, I saw a familiar face amongst them. When I focused my eyes better to the spot, I was surprised to see HIM there, but as quickly as he was there, he was gone. I couldn't help but frown at that as I stopped walking.

'What's going on?' I couldn't help but think to myself. 'He's been acting oddly since I came into the Club room with Shun today...'

"Oi Mako-chan! You in there still?" Shun asked tapping my head playfully, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Ah, gomen Shun-kun, what were you saying again?" I asked sheepishly and rubbed my arm a bit.

He laughed good naturedly and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, something I wasn't bothered by. I think it's from living with my father and Renji for the past few years, but he was really touchy. It was something that I was quite use too thanks to Daichi-tou-san.

The next morning I went to school with my sisters as usual and had our morning classes. I mostly ignored Takashi and Mitsukuni, I didn't want to really, but I was still hurt by what they did the day before. But as soon as noon came, Shun came to school, and readily attached himself to me. He had told my sisters the night before of wanting to test Takashi, and they agreed completely. I sighed a bit as we met up with Haruhi, who looked at Shun and I oddly, but I just shook my head at her, not wanting to explain.

As we walked up to the club room, we met up with the Zuka club, who then told us that they had come to convince the Host club that Haruhi and I were meant to be at their school. Benio grabbed Haruhi's hand, who in turn grabbed mine, causing me to grab onto Shun, who... well you get the picture right? We were dragged to the club room and opened the door.

Once it was opened, we found it strange that it was dark in the room, till I pointed out to Haruhi a clump of something in the center of it. Tilting our heads a bit the things in the middle of the room started to move and famine-ish voices started to sing.

"Ouran~ Host Club Welcome!" each one said, and I could only make out one male voice, which I immediately connected to Takashi.

Soon I realized what they were doing and bit onto my thumb as to not start laughing already. Soon the lights were turned on, and I had to bite my hand harder as snickers started to leave my lips. All of the Host members, except for Takashi, were dressed up as girls. With hair extensions, make, poofy, frilly dresses, the works. The rest of our little group stood in shock until Tamaki and Mitsukuni came over to us, greeting us.

"Haru-chan, Mako-chan, I'm a princess! Do I look good?" he asked, and I had to turn my head away as giggles and laughs threatened to take over my body. I was so close to laughing, that I had to turn around, and lean against Shun to try and stop laughing. My sisters, weren't as nice as they left the room, to the kitchen and started laughing in there.

Benio wasn't amused by this and demanded to know if they were insulting the culture of Lobelia, Tamaki calmly replied that everything was going to the 'Big Secret Plan'. Soon he began to explain it, and I calmed down. Turning around, I felt Shun wrap his arms around my waist and rest his head on my shoulder, probably unsure of what to say on this.

"Is this for real?" he whispered into my ear, making my lips quirk up a bit.

"Yes Shun-kun, it is." I whispered back, a hint of laughter still playing in my tone.

"You've gotten yourself mixed up with a bunch of cross-dressers Mako-chan. How come I'm not surprised." He whispered back, now fully amused as I was.

Soon the Host Club were showing themselves off to Haruhi and I. I was quite amused by this, and looking over at Haruhi, I could tell she was too. When Takashi and Kyoya came up to us, I was surprised at the smile on Takashi's face, and felt something in my chest skip a beat. We caught each other's eyes, and I saw a hint of hurt go through them as they went back to their spots. As Benio tried to put our club down, Haruhi and I couldn't help but look at each other and smile knowingly. Soon we started to laugh, and laugh we did. We laughed loudly, barely able to tell them that we couldn't handle their idiocy like this. The twins and Mitsukuni decided to make Haruhi laugh some more and went after her, trying to get her to call them 'Onee-sama'.

As for me, I was trying my hardest to stay on my feet as I walked out Shun's arms. Which wasn't hard to do, for he was laughing as well. I tried to keep my balance, but I started to fall, which I did to my knees though, holding my stomach with one arm as I started to hyperventilate. Takashi seemed to notice this and was soon at my side, as I tried getting air back into my lungs. He pressed my forehead against his chest lightly, and soon I was able to hear his heartbeat. Getting what he meant, I tried my hardest to breath with his heartbeat.

In the mean time, my sisters came out of the kitchen and were joined in being chased with Haruhi by Mitsukuni and the twins, as they started laughing hysterically again. Once I got my breathing regulated, I let out a sigh, and leaned against Takashi, closing my eyes a bit, relaxing. I felt a hand on the back of my head, keeping me where I was though, I wasn't going to be moving any time soon anyway. Soon Haruhi and my sisters stopped laughing and soon Haruhi asked them why they were doing this.

"Because we want to work in this Host Club with you and Ryuu-sempai." Hikaru said as he turned away from Haruhi and looked up at the ceiling.

I couldn't help but smile at the answer as I looked up at Takashi, while he looked down at me. I saw his gentle eyes as he nodded his head, saying his usual, 'ah', confirming what was said. I nodded my head back, and soon the two of us were standing up. I walked gave Takashi's hand a small squeeze before walking over to Haruhi, standing next to her as she told Benio her reason for staying at Ouran.

"Gomen. There are many kinds of people in the world and I do think your way of thinking is unique and interesting, but I have a dream that I want to achieve and that's why I came to this school. I never had any intentions of leaving Ouran." She said with a smile. Soon Benio turned to me as I wrapped my arms lightly around my waist.

"Un, Gomen. I've been here for two years already and my dreams, right now, are attached to this place. I can't leave here, I never even though about doing so in the first place." I said with a smile.

This seemed to surprise the girls of Lobelia, but made the rest of the club happy. I could hear Tamaki say our names, had a feeling that Kyoya had something up his sleeve, and when I looked over, I saw Takashi's smile again. Soon something seemed to click to Tamaki as he came up to us asking why we got so angry yesterday. To the Haruhi and I both growled out that anyone would be angry if their stuff was sold. He didn't realize that fact until then it seemed, for as he and Haruhi continued to argue a bit, I just let it slighted, and sighed, shaking my head.

'These people will never change.' I thought, but smirked a little to myself all the same. 'But I don't think I'd have it any other way.'

"I won't give up Fair Maiden, Sweet Lady. We swear... that we will rescue you from this place." Benio stated. "... and destroy this host club!" after that, the three of them twirled away, but not before slipping on banana peels just as the door closed.

The lights then went off and Renge came out of the floor, stating that our club had a new rival, and wondered what was ahead for us. All the while, eating a banana.

After Renge went back to where ever she went, we all turned to each other, and I felt Shun come up behind me, wrapping his arms around me once more.

"Awe, how cute. Everyone's happy now." He cooed, making e roll my eyes at him, and lightly nudge him in the ribs, causing him to whine.

"Speaking of things. Ryuu-sempai, who is this. He doesn't have the Ouran uniform on." Kyoya said, after clearing his throat.

"Oh, right, gomen. This is Shun-kun. He's my father's aikouka's son." I said, chuckling awkwardly.

"Yo!" Shun said from my shoulder. "I'm Hitsugaya Shun. I go to the University near Mako-chan's old high school." He stated with a grin and rubbed his cheek against mine, making me grunt in displeasure.

"You're not being cute Shun-kun." I grumbled, making Shun pout.

"You go to Kohashi University then." Kyoya said, opening up his note book, as Shun nodded in confirmation. "I see. Then you are aware that Ryuu-sempai owes this club a total of 70,500 yen, am I correct?"

I flushed at the amount that I still owed the club. I felt Shun's arms tighten as his body went ridged. But before Shun could ask why I owed so much to the club, his cell rang, much to my relief, and my sisters, who I noticed relaxed like I did.

"Eh? Moshi-moshi?" Shun asked as he answered. On the other end, I could hear Renji-kun and I let out a sigh of relief, mentally thanking Renji for his perfect timing.

"Shun, where have you been? I've tried calling you several times already!" Renji growled out a bit.

"Oh! Gomen Tou-san! I've been with Mako-chan, Taka-chan, and Yuzu-chan." Shun chirped happily, making the three of us sigh.

Shun then let go of me and started walking around as he talked to his father. At this time, I got looks from the Host Club, who wanted to know exactly what was going on. My sisters came up to my side, giving me a hug, which I returned with a sigh.

"We met Shun-kun about three years ago. He immediately took to us, and declared that he would be our 'amazingly awesome nii-san'." I said with a chuckle.

"Shun-kun, like our otou-san, is prone to randomly showing up and making himself at home." Takara said, shaking her head a little.

"He and Renji-kun, Shun-kun's otou-san, as well as our own, have been trying to get us to live with them. But it's not fair to Okaa-san... if we move in with them..." Yuzuki said quietly and sniffed a bit as I wrapped my arm tighter around her.

"So what you three are saying is that Hitsugaya-san isn't your boyfriend Ryuu-sempai?" the twins said making me and my sisters start to laugh.

"Hai Hikaru-kun, Kaoru-kun. Shun-kun is like a nii-san to us, besides, he's bisexual and doesn't try to 'woe' us." I explained and as I watched each of their faces, realization hit them.

I sighed a bit as I looked at each of them, other than Haruhi, Kyoya, and Takashi, the other's mouths were opened in an 'o'. I looked at Takashi, seeing the mixed emotions in his eyes. I lowered my eyes a bit and nudged my sisters a bit before motioning towards the door, where Shun was waiting for us. I looked back at Takashi, seeing a frown on his face as our eyes met briefly.

"Well... I guess I'll see you guys later." I said softly as I turned around with my sisters, nudging them forward.

I knew that they looked back at the Host Club as we left the club room, with Shun doing the same before wrapping an arm around me and my sisters. As we walked down the barren hall, Shun told us that he was going back home, for he had missed classes that day and was now in trouble. When we left the school grounds, Shun went on his way as my sisters and I went our way.

"Mako-nee? What are you going to do about the club?" Yuzu-chan asked as I opened the door to our home.

"What else, act like nothing has happened. After all, they don't know what it's like with how we live. Their world is completely different from our own." I said softly as I walked over to the couch and collapsed on it.

I was thankful that we had two days off of school, which meant that I didn't have to face the Host Club for two days.

'What else can go wrong though?' I couldn't help but wonder.


	21. Chapter 21

It was Sunday now and nothing happened, luckily, during the two days off of school. I was currently out taking a jog. I was wearing a dark purple tank top, black jogging shorts, and runners. I had pinned some of my hair back away from my neck, since it was growing longer over the months. My dragons, the purple pendant and the cord necklace stuck against my neck from the little amount of sweat that was there. I had my mp3 player hooked onto my jogging belt with the ear buds plugged into my ears, the belt also carried my keys and water bottle. I was at a busy intersection, jogging on the spot, heading home, when I saw Haruhi, walking by carrying a few bags from the supermarket. Smiling a bit, I took an ear bud out and made my way over to her.

"Oi! Haruhi!" I called making her turn around at the sound of her name, when she saw me, she smiled and waved as I came over.

"Makoto-sempai what are you doing out here?" she asked curiously as we walked beside each other.

"I was out jogging when I saw you Haru-chan, do you need some help carrying?" I asked.

Haruhi was wearing a pink dress over top a white t-shirt and jeans, with a beaded necklace round her neck and her purse over her shoulder. She nodded her head and handed me her other bag as we turned down to the street towards our apartment building. Along the way, we chatted happily, and I told her that Takara and Yuzuki were out with friends, going to the spray park. Soon we noticed a commotion in front of our block and looked at each other a bit, shrugging then went over to see what it was about. When we got there, we paled. In front of our apartment was a black sleek limo, and I could only guess who it was as I ran a hand through my hair.

"You got to be kidding me..." I sighed as I looked over at Haruhi, who was still confused.

We watched as the limo driver got out and opened the door for someone, and I paled more when I saw that it was the host club, who came out. Around us we heard people whispering about them being movie stars. I turned to Haruhi and patted her shoulder lightly and leaned in towards her.

"Did we ever establish a plan in case something like this happened?" I asked quietly, making her look at me.

"No... we never got to that because we didn't think they'd do this." She whispered back with a big sigh.

I sighed as well and nodded my head as I looked back at the Host Club, who stood in front of the apartment buildings, talking. Tamaki looked like he was troubled with something. Kyoya was probably explaining things to them. I looked back at our neighbours who were still star-struck about the limos, and ran another hand through my hair.

'Well there goes the peace and quiet here...' I thought with a sigh.

Soon we started going towards them and I felt my eyebrow twitch at the words Tamaki was using. He was already insulting us without knowing. I placed a hand on Haruhi's shoulder, knowing how unpleased she was with what was going on.

"Go home right now." She said annoyed as I cleaned out my ears besides her.

The twins, Tamaki and Mitsukuni gave her thumbs up as they said that plain looked good on her. In return, she told them to get lost.

"She's right. You guys should just go home now. You're causing too much of a scene, it's troublesome." I said, turning to the group with a bland glare, rather than Haruhi's heated one.

"Punk works for you Ryuu-sempai!" the twins said, giving me two thumbs up, I snorted at them, heating my glare up, which caused them to freeze a bit.

Soon Tamaki was blaming the twins for something, while whining about me not being nice. We were approached by a lady.

"Excuse me, Haruhi-chan, Makoto-chan. Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Oh, Ms. Landlady." Haruhi and I said, we both didn't know her name, so we just called her by her title.

"Riding those foreign cars... are these people yakuza or something?" she asked.

This question made me start to laugh. I tried to stop but it was already too late. Just the thought of the Host Club as part of the yakuza made me want to laugh. In order to quiet down my laughter, I started to giggle, my lips quirking up as I pictured them in yakuza clothing. I went off to the side to continue my laughter as Haruhi tried to explain to our landlady who the host club was, but before she could, Tamaki butted in. Sighing, my amusement done, our landlady soon told us that she would come for a visit.

Haruhi and I looked at each other, sighing heavily as we walked up to our apartments. I was about three doors away from her but since I was blocked thanks to the club, apparently I was heading to Haruhi's apartment as well. As Haruhi told everyone that they could take a small peak, I stretched my arms over my head a little. Soon Mitsukuni said that he had brought cake, and Haruhi reluctantly gave in, saying how she would make some tea.

"Ryuu-sempai, you live close to Haruhi, don't you?" Kyoya asked making me nod.

"Hai, just three doors down." I answered with a shrug. "And that's where I'm going to head to now, to change." I said, but once I saw Haruhi's face, I sighed heavily. "Then I'll come back here." I added with a roll of my eyes as Haruhi gave me a thankful look.

"Can Takashi and I come too?" Mitsukuni asked with hopeful eyes.

I nodded my head, I didn't care too much if the club saw my apartment, just as long as they didn't get into anything. Without saying anything else, I walked down to my apartment and opened the door up, letting those who wanted to come in. Slipping off my shoes, I placed my water bottle on the counter.

"This is a little bigger than Haruhi's home, but that's only because we have three to four people staying here." I explained. "Now, if you guys want to go back to Haruhi's home, you can. I have to change." I told them as I made my way to my bedroom, closing the door behind me as I gathered the clothes I needed.

I walked out of my bedroom with my clothes in hand and walked into the bathroom. I figured that the other's went over to Haruhi's, since that was the main reason for their visit. Well, that was what I gathered, for I didn't exactly leave on positive terms after trying to explain who Shun was to them. I washed up and changed into a green tank top and a pair of black leggings and a dark blue jean mini skirt that my sisters forced me to get. It was also the only thing in my entire room to wear since all of my clothing seemed to have disappeared when I was gone from the apartment.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my damp hair as I walked out of the bathroom and pinned it back a little so it was out of my face. Walking to the kitchen, I didn't realize someone was in there until I heard someone chocking a bit in surprise. Turning, my eyes widen at seeing Takashi standing there, his eyes wide, and a small blush placed on his cheeks.

"T-Takashi!" I gasped, my cheeks now becoming warm. I pulled the skirt down a bit, so it was closer to my knees and mentally cursed my sisters, who I knew planned this. Looking off to the side, out the window, I gently rubbed my arm in embarrassment. "What... are you doing here still?" I asked quietly, wrapping my arms around my waist.

It wasn't often that I felt vulnerable in a situation, but something about the look in Takashi's eyes, made me feel as such. We were silent, for how long, I wouldn't be able to tell you, probably not as long as it felt though. Fiddling a bit, I couldn't help but jump a bit when the phone rang. Moving fast, I went to past Takashi, who quickly grabbed my arm, pulling me to him. Soon the phone rang again as I looked back at Takashi, biting my lip a little, my eyes traveling to the phone then back to Takashi. His eyes had a defeated look in them as he let go of my arm, letting me head to the phone before the third ring. Cradling the phone against my ear, I answered it.

"Moshi, moshi." I said as I turned to Takashi, who kept his eyes on me as I swayed a little in spot.

"Mako-chwan! How are you today?" Daichi-tou-san's voice ran from the other end of the phone.

I had to blink in surprise, for it wasn't often that he phoned, unless he had something planned or if he was with Ranka-kun.

"Daichi-otou-san, why are you calling?" I asked, my brow furrowed a bit in confusion as I stared out of the window.

"Is it so horrible that I want to talk with my daughter?" he asked and I could tell that he was pouting by the tone of his voice.

"Iie, tou-san, I just didn't expect you to. When you do, you're usually plotting something with Renji-kun, Ranka-kun, Shun-kun," I noticed Takashi stiffen at the mention of Shun from the corner of my eye, "So I have every right to ask." I said dryly and proceeded to lean against the wall, for my father was known to talk on, and on without stopping.

I talked with Daichi-tou-san for a few more minutes, before telling him that I had to go, and promptly hung up before he could stop me. I let out a long sigh as I leaned against the wall and chuckled a bit, I knew for a fact that I probably wouldn't be able to find something like Daichi-tou-san anywhere else. Turning back to Takashi, I gave him a small smile and walked back over to him. When I was a few feet from him, I bowed deeply to him, biting my bottom lip once more, it was a nervous habit that I had at times.

"Gomen Takashi." I said quietly, not looking up from the floor. "I must have worried you with the behaviour that I've been having lately."

We were silent once again, and I felt him gently pull me up so I was standing straight He then gently took one of my hand and gently placed something cool in the palm of my hand, closed my hand, and left the apartment, not looking back as he walked down a bit towards Haruhi's apartment. Blinking at this behaviour, I looked down into my hands, and opened it up, only to have my breath get caught in my lungs.

What Takashi had placed in my hand was a green frog keychain, almost identical to the one my mother had given me all those years ago. The only difference was that this frog, was that its eyes were darker, making it remind me of Takashi. The one my mother had given me had blue eyes. I turned the keychain over and saw a small note on the back of it.

'_We're sorry for taking your keychain, we didn't know it was from your kaa-san. Please forgive us!'_

I chuckled at the note, proceeding to take it off my new frog and took out my current key ring and placed the frog on it, before sticking it into my pocket once more. 'I suppose I could let them go with a warning...' I mused as I slipped on my flats and walked out of the apartment, closing it behind me and walked over to Haruhi's apartment.

As soon as I had entered the door, I couldn't help but chuckle at the state everyone except Kyoya were in. They were sitting stiffer than a board. I walked in quietly, pressing my lips together so I wouldn't giggle and walked up behind the three of them and poked Kaoru's head towards his brother and soon they toppled onto the floor like dominos. This time I couldn't hold back my laughter and looked down at the three fools with my arms crossed, a smirk playing on my lips.

"Maa, maa, now then, how about you guys loosening up a bit ya?" I said, still chuckling as I walked into Haruhi's kitchen to help with bringing in the cups.

"Gomen, I don't have enough cups for everyone." She said as she placed a coffee mug in front of Takashi.

"If you needed some more, you should have asked Haruhi, we have the same set at home." I said as I placed the last of the cups down.

Soon I took my place next to Kyoya and watched as Haruhi picked up a strawberry cake. The twins and Tamaki started making a scene again, making me roll my eyes as Mitsukuni offered me to pick one as well, which I grabbed a coffee one. Takashi then started giving Haruhi his strawberries, which got the three morons acting strange again. I sighed heavily at this and shook my head as I took everything into the kitchen. From what I heard, the idiots wanted lunch now.

"Haruhi, if you don't want them over here, we can go to my place and I can make lunch for everyone." I offered.

But Kyoya shook his head, saying that since the club dropped by unannounced that they would get lunch. To which Haruhi and I blandly refused, for we didn't want to have anything else added to our debts. But Kyoya said that they would be paying with money that was sold from our pictures, which did not at all amuse us. As I washed the dishes, Haruhi went to make a phone call, and Tamaki made an idiot out of himself, like normal. But it was when Mitsukuni said that he wanted to have our cooking that made me pause as Haruhi and I looked at each other.

"Maa... that means we'll have to go get some groceries neh Haruhi?" I mused as I finished drying the last of the dishes and put them away.

"Ah." She agreed with a nod of her head as everyone agreed that they were going to go with us.

I stretched my arms out a bit and headed for the door, telling them that I would be back for I had to get my purse. As I walked to my apartment, I was joined by Takashi, I looked up at him a bit as I opened the door and walked inside with him. He stood in living area as I went into my room, grabbing by purse and walked out again. I stopped next to Takashi and gently took his hand in my own. We were facing different ways, but I felt his curious eyes on me. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze and lightly pressed my lips to his cheek. It was there, that I felt his cheek heat up, making my own do the same as well. When I pulled away, I saw that his eyes were wide in surprise.

We made eye contact and I felt him give a tug on my arm, pulling me to him. Soon I collided with his chest and wrapped his arms around me, not saying anything. But our actions spoke volumes to us. I wrapped my arms around him and felt his head rest on top of my own. I'm not sure how long we stood there, but we only broke apart when something fell to the ground.

"Makoto-chwan!" Daichi-tou-san, who was dressed as a woman again, cooed as he wrapped me up in his arms, nuzzling our cheeks together. "Where's Yuzu-chan and Taka-chan?" he asked as he started spinning me around, pointedly ignoring Takashi.

"Tou-san, they're out with friends." I squeezed out as Daichi stopped spinning me.

"Out with friends?" he asked as he dropped me onto the ground. Tears then started prickling his eyes. "Oh they're such good girls!" he said dramatically.

As I rolled my eyes and stood back up, I felt Takashi place his hands against my shoulders lightly as to help steady me, but I ended up having to lean against his chest to keep stable, for I hadn't expected Daichi-tou-san to spin me so much, I was actually dizzy, and used Takashi's chest as a support of sorts.

"Takashi-kun! I didn't even see you there!" Daichi-tou-san said as he pushed me out of the way, and took Takashi's hands, looking him over with a grin on his face.

As I landed on the ground, I couldn't help but feel my eye twitch in annoyance as my father started talking with Takashi. Soon Ranka-kun and the rest of the Host Club came over and my father started talking to Kyoya and Mitsukuni as I sat up, rubbing my back. grumbling a bit I watched a little as my father and Ranka-kun talked with the club, letting me make an escape, which I took full heartedly. As I walked down the street, I decided that I would make some dessert. 'But what to have?' I thought, tapping a finger on my chin as I made my way to the supermarket.

Once there, I started grabbing some ingredients, deciding on something simple, maybe cookies, or cupcakes. I didn't know where Haruhi was, so I assumed she was getting stuff for dinner. Humming to myself, I figured that I best make more than one thing, so there would be extra for my sisters. As I walked through the market, I swore I saw my father, Ranka-kun and the host club prowling around. Shaking my head a bit I continued on my way until I heard a familiar cry, and the sound of a cart gone wild. Seeing it coming towards me with Mitsukuni inside, I stepped in front of it and caught the cart after putting down my basket.

"Waaaah! Makoto!" the smaller boy cried as he latched onto me in a hug.

"You're alright Mitsukuni. Why were in that cart anyway?" I asked with a frown as I stood up with the basket in my hand again and Mitsukuni now resting on my back, gripping my shirt a little.

"I thought it would be fun to ride in it." He sniffed as I nodded my head.

"I see, let's find Takashi alright? I'm sure he's worried about you." I told him as I started going back the way that he had come down.

As we walked I told Mitsukuni about my plans for dessert, making him feel better as he started rambling on, on what kinds of cupcakes I could make. As soon as we left the isle, we were greeted by Takashi, who quickly came over to us, a relieved expression on his face. Soon Takashi took Mitsukuni from me and the three of us started walking as I picked up some more ingredients. Soon we met up with the other hosts, Daichi-tou-san, Ranka-kun, Haruhi, and my sisters.

"Well, looks like this will be a party." I mused with a smile.

Mitsukuni was now smiling and Takashi had a small one on his face as well as everyone looked at each other. I'm not sure what Daichi-tou-san said to Takashi, but he was smug and Takashi was avoiding any contact with him. I reminded myself to ask the reason later on.

When we all decided that it was time to go back, Haruhi and I paid for groceries and we all walked back. Ranka and Daichi-tou-san were in front, followed by Haruhi and Tamaki, then Kyoya and the twins, with Takashi, Mitsukuni and I taking up the rear. Lunch was great, Ranka-kun was being his natural protective self over Haruhi. Obviously he's seen the looks between Haruhi and Tamaki. As for my father, he was teasing Takashi about something, as well as talking in hushed voices with Kyoya.

As we wound down after eating our fill, Daichi-tou-san said something which caught us off guard.

"Mako-chan, I need you to come with me for a week. Renji-koi's back isn't well and he needs your magical fingers.

The Host Club figured out that my father was bisexual, the same with Shun-kun, but it still bothered them all the same with how casually the subject was brought up. I frowned at this as I weighed in my options, for school.

"You don't need to worry about school Mako-chan, I've talked to the school board and they said that you don't have any tests coming up." He said with a smile. "Plus Taka-chan and Yuzu-chan can gather your homework for you." He added and proceeded to give me his most desperate puppy eyes ever.

Running a hand through my hair, I sighed and nodded my head as I looked away. I couldn't say no to that, and I knew that Daichi-tou-san had other reasons to drag me away from my normal routine.

"Hai, hai tou-san." I said as I shook my head a bit. I couldn't help but pout though, for I wanted to have some study time with my sisters so they would be prepared for their tests.


	22. Chapter 22

Through the week at Daichi-tou-san's, Renji-kun and Shun-kun's home, I found out that the reason why I was brought there in the first place was because they decided it would be a good thing to bombard me with questions about the Host Club. Even though my father already knew much from Kyoya.

Currently I was laying down on the couch in the basement, just having woken up from a much needed nap. I won't go into details, but it had to do with Daichi-tou-san and Renji-kun while they were in their bedroom. Sighing heavily I ran a hand through my hair as I pushed myself up from the soft couch cushions. I was by myself currently and decided that I would head home for the day. I had been itching to go back to school, for I didn't know what kind of trouble my sisters had gotten into while I was dragged away.

Walking to the room I had been occupying thus far, I went over to the dresser which held my clothes and packed my back up once more before leaving the room and walking upstairs where I was surprised to see Shun there, sitting at the coffee table, sipping just that.

"So I was right, you're leaving Mako-chan?" Shun asked as he placed his mug down and stood up, and came over to me.

I nodded my head as I hoisted my bag onto my shoulder. There was nothing for me to do at this place when no one was around, and I was not allowed to go to school. I got sick of watching TV all day. I missed going to kendo and being active. Shun let out a sigh and a pout as he nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll bring you home." He caved and led me out to his car.

After dropping me at home, he waited for me to change then drove me to the school, saying how it was still early so that would mean that the Host Club would still be in session. I thanked him as he dropped me off in front of Ouran, and promised that I would come over with my sisters one day for a visit. He smiled at me, and told me that he was going to make sure I kept that promise as he drove away. I walked into the school and made my way up to the club room, wondering why it was so dead in the hallways. Once I opened the door, I could see the reason. It was a day off that they decided to have to themselves, and let Mitsukuni take a much needed nap.

I saw the twins with their arms around Haruhi, who looked bored, while Tamaki looked to be in a panic. Kyoya was typing away on his laptop, and Takashi was sitting across from Kyoya, reading a book, so no one had noticed my presence yet. Well maybe Kyoya did, he was always aware of everything that went on around him. Walking further into the room, I stepped behind the little cot that held Mitsukuni, noticing the reason for the mad panic in the room. Usa-chan was covered in coffee. I walked up behind Takashi, placing my bag onto the ground as I leaned over his shoulder, taking a look at where he was in the book.

"How's the book Taka-kun?" I asked casually gently resting my arms over top his broad shoulders, recognizing it as one of the books that I had lent him a few weeks back.

Takashi looked up in surprise as I gave him a casual smile. His eyes warmed a bit at the sight of me as he nodded his head. We were ignoring the twins, Tamaki, and an over reacting Haruhi as we started to talk a little. It seemed we were a little lost in our own world, for I didn't see the look that Kyoya had when he watched us.

"Ryuu-sempai, I would advise that you and Mori-sempai do something once Hunny-sempai wakes up. I don't think the twins, the idiot, or Haruhi will be able to handle him with the way they're going now." Kyoya said as he looked up, giving me a knowing look.

"Hai." I said as Takashi gave Kyoya a nod in confirmation.

I already knew what blood type Mitsukuni had, and had a guess at how he would react if he were to have a rude awakening. It was this reason that I was thankful my sisters were both Blood Type B, while I was Type A.

Turning back to Takashi, who was still looking at me, I tilted my head a bit with a smile. I had missed this club a lot, even though I wouldn't admit it out loud. I hadn't removed my arms from Takashi's shoulders as I turned back to him, after giving a glance at the others as they tried to figure out what to do with Mitsukuni when he awoke. My sisters were at home, and greeted me with a hug, for they missed me.

"How was your father's?" Takashi asked me in a quiet voice as he turned back to his book.

I leaned a bit more against him as I read along with him, taking my time answering his question. The reason why I needed to take the time, was because despite everything, it was embarrassing to admit that staying in a house with all males was very disturbing since they never let up the fact that I was starting to get a 'love interest' as they loved to put it. I also knew that I was being a little bold around Takashi now, but I do blame it on Daichi-tou-san and Renji-kun. They kept pushing me to take a chance, and not wait in the dark, for they knew that nothing would happen.

"It was... interesting. I forgot how loud a house could be." I mused, lightly resting my head on top of Takashi's so I could read the bottom of the page before he could turn it.

Before Takashi could say anything we heard Haruhi making a fuss about something, when I looked over, I saw that Tamaki was holding a bunny suit and had a hand on the poor girl's shoulder, forcing her not to flee. I sighed a bit and shook my head. Because of the commotion, I noticed that Mitsukuni was starting to wake up, and lightly nudged Takashi, who looked over.

"Ah." He said and nodded to the bear that was starring in front of him.

I chuckled a bit, knowing that Mitsukuni wouldn't like seeing the bear, and like I thought, he threw Kuma-chan, Tamaki's bear onto the ground. He then walked over to the table where Usa-chan was, dragging his blanket with him and looked down at the soaked bunny as he picked it up. I watched in amusement as he turned to Tamaki, and the twins, asking them who got his bunny dirty. This scared the crap out of them as they called for Takashi's help.

But already, Takashi and I were walking over to Mitsukuni, I hid back a smirk as I pushed my hands into my pockets.

"The bunny doll... wanted to drink tea really badly." Takashi said looking at Mitsukuni.

It was silent for a few minutes before Mitsukuni's face grew happy as he looked up at him. "Ah~ sokka!" he said as he skipped over to Takashi. Apparently, no one had seen me yet, which amused me. "Will he eat cake too?" he asked, holding Usa-chan up.

"Iie Mitsukuni, I don't think Usa-chan would like that very much." I said with a small chuckle.

I saw him blink a few times, before his face lit up even more and threw himself at me, hugging me happily.

"Makoto!" he said, the acceleration of his launched hug made us spin around, making me chuckle.

"Okaerinasai." I said as soon we stopped spinning.

I gently set Mitsukuni down as the others stared at me, blinking a bit. I tilted my head at him, blinking as well, their starring was starting to get annoying.

"Nani?" I asked tilting my head a bit.

"Ryuu-senpai when did you get here?" the twins asked, causing me to roll my eyes a bit.

"Just a few minutes ago, you guys were so busy panicking that the only ones who knew were Takashi and Kyo-Kyo." I said with a shrug.

Soon we were sitting around talking a bit, rather, the twins, Tamaki and Mitsukuni were talking, Haruhi was finishing up her homework, Kyoya was typing on his lap top again, and I was reading over Takashi's shoulder, resting my head on top of his again since I was standing behind him once more. When it started getting a little late, we all went our separate ways heading home.

Once I got home, I noticed that the apartment was cleaning than it was when I arrived that afternoon and chuckled to myself as I started preparing supper. 'I guess Yuzu-chan, and Taka-chan learned their lesson from last time.' I thought, making their favourites in thanks.

"Mako-nee, where's my jean jacket?" Takara asked from her room, making me chuckle.

"On the right side of your closet." I called back as I set the timer on the stove then moving onto the vegetables.

Once supper was finished, I called my sisters out and we ate happily. I told them how Daichi-tou-san, Renji-kun, and Shun-kun were, and they told me what I missed at school and what transpired in the club while I was away. After cleaning the dishes, I sent them back to their rooms so they could finish up their homework as I went to my room to get started on mine.

The next day went by fast and currently I was back to talking with the girls, explaining that I had been visiting my father for the past week. Soon I was standing with Takashi, with him explaining a few thing that I had missed in class. Soon though, the whole room went silent once Mitsukuni stopped talking. I could only guess that it was because he finally got a cavity. Takashi and I snapped our heads the small senior as we watched Haruhi, and the twins try to calm him down. I looked at Takashi who made a beeline towards his cousin, who had tears in his eyes and was covering his mouth.

"Takashi..." I said following behind.

I knew for a fact that Mitsukuni could take Takashi on, but for the sake of our customers, I hoped that it wouldn't come to the cousin's fighting. My sisters were soon at my side as we watched as Takashi took Mitsukuni's hand and tossed him on the couch, so that he could look into his cousin's mouth. The girls didn't seem to get what was going on and soon started to swoon at the cousin's as I made my way over to them.

"It's a cavity hm." I said with a sigh, shaking my head a bit as my sisters squirmed under my gaze, when I looked over at them.

They remembered the last time they had cavities and how I treated them. I banned any sweets from the apartment and didn't make any either until they got fillings. It had taken them a week of pain and complaints until they did so. I looked over at Takashi, and saw that his eyes were guarded as he looked over at Tamaki. Apparently, they had a plan if something like this happened. Tamaki cleared his throat and announced that Mitsukuni was banned from eating sweets until his tooth was filled and the club would control how many sweets they ate.

Looking over at Mitsukuni I let out a sigh. He was in shock and in denial, tears gathering in his eyes as he tried to convince his cousin not to put the ban on. I went over to the table that had his unfinished cake on it and picked it up.

"Gomen Mitsukuni, but it's for your own good." I said and turned to the kitchen to take it back. Takashi soon joined me, taking the other cakes as well.

"But it's my cake!" Mitsukuni said running over to us. Takashi and I paused, the former turning to his cousin as I let out a sigh and closed my eyes a bit.

"It's forbidden." Takashi said and with that we continued into the kitchen.

Once there, I looked at Takashi, who was leaning against the counter, his hands clenching the edges a bit. I knew he was doing this for more than just Mitsukuni's sake. I walked over to him and gently placed my arms around him from behind, giving him a gentle hug.

"He'll understand Takashi, maybe not right now, but he will. Just... don't do anything too stupid to get yourself hurt alright?" I said softly resting my head against his back.

I felt him sigh, feeling the muscles in his back relax slightly as he straightened up. I went to move away from him, but he pulled me back after turning around to face me.

"Ah." He said quietly, but his tone was off a little, and I knew he was blaming himself.

"Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault, you didn't know that this would happen." I said softly.

I felt him rest his head on top of mine a little before feeling him give me a small squeeze. He then let me go and nodded to me giving me a small smile.

"Ah." He said again and soon we left the kitchen after I placed a lock on the fried, and the freezer.

'This is going to be a long week...' I mused, shaking my head a bit.

The next day came and I stayed away from the cousins. I knew Takashi was going all out on this sugar ban, and knew that it would only be more painful to watch it. I was walking down the hall and met up with the twins and Haruhi, who were talking about Takashi and Mitsukuni.

"It's not that he's being strict you two. He's doing this for a purpose." I said as I passed them. "You'll find out why soon."

I know that they paused and watched me as I went on my way, entering the club with a sigh. I closed the book that I had been reading and saw that only Kyoya and my sisters were there. I walked over to them and sat down across from Kyoya.

"How long do you think this will last?" I asked curiously, watching as the Shadow King typed away on his laptop with Takara looking over his shoulder a bit.

"Only a few days Ryuu-senpai. You know as well as I do that Mori-senpai and Honey-senpai can't live like this forever." He said, pushing up his glasses as I nodded my head.

"That's true Kyo-Kyo. But I'm worried over how this will affect the overall club." I told him.

"Don't worry about that Ryuu-senpai. I already have a plan concerning that." He told me, making me roll my eyes at that. I stood up from my chair, placed my bag down and stretched my arms up. I was going to head to Kendo after school before coming back to the club. I relayed this to the others and headed out the door.

After Kendo, I was walking down the stairs and met up with Haruhi, who looked to be coming back from the library. We chatted a bit as we made walked to the club. We stopped though when Haruhi saw Takashi standing with a girl, who I think was from a class under us. She was quite pretty, with long brown hair with part of it braided back. I was going to continue on, but Haruhi grabbed my arm, pulling me to stop beside her.

"Makoto aren't you curious to what it's about?" she asked me, causing me to shake my head.

"Iie, I don't. Besides, it's not polite to eavesdrop on others." I said with a shrug and with that, she let go of my arm, letting me walk away as if nothing had happened.

I already knew that many of the females had crushes on the club members. But as club members, they couldn't have a relationship because of the fact that it would be bad for the club. I let out a sigh as I ran a hand through my hair. Though, I will admit, it did bother me a little bit to know that someone did want to pursue a relationship with Takashi. 'Oh snap out of it you silly girl. You have more important things to worry about besides a boy.' I thought scowling at myself a bit.

Back at the club, Kyoya and I were watching Mitsukuni as he tried his tactics to get his sweets back. I ran a hand through my hair as I sat down in one of the chairs. I knew Mitsukuni wouldn't be able to last long, as it was the third day of the sweet ban. Mitsukuni was angry as he paced around the club with his bunny. The others were scared to talk to him, so I stood up, pushing my seat back and walked over to the now fallen senior, squatting beside him.

"Mitsukuni, that's enough." I said stroking his hair a bit. "You know that we're doing this for your own good."

He didn't say anything, but as soon as I saw him turn his head I quickly moved my hand before he could take a chunk out of it. I gave him an unamused look as I stood up and sighed, dusting myself off.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone. Just don't try eating a human." I said, hearing someone, most likely Takashi standing up.

I turned my heel on my friend and walked back over to the table when I felt him throw himself at me, but not for a hug. Before he could though, Tamaki got in the way, and Mitsukuni clamped onto Tamaki's hand. Letting out a yelp as Mitsukuni gnawed on Tamaki's hand.

"Mitsukuni. Stop this." I said, trying to get him off of Tamaki.

He didn't stop though and soon I felt a hand on my shoulder, pushing me to the side gently. I looked up and saw Takashi. I stepped more to the side, a cold feeling running down my spine at the look in Takashi's eyes.

"Mitsukuni. Stop directing you anger at objects and people." Takashi said, his voice hard, reminding me almost of Akira's when he was serious. "You're being shameless."

I walked over to Tamaki as Mitsukuni turned to Takashi, I saw the dark, irritated look on my friends face and sighed as I took a look at Tamaki's hand.

"Are you okay Tamaki?" I asked inspecting the non threatening teeth marks that were there.

"Hai Ryuu-senpai. Are you alright though? Honey-senpai almost attacked you." He asked giving me a concerned look.

I gave him a smile and nodded my head, letting him know I was alright. I gently pushed Tamaki though back to the others as I stayed at the wall, telling him that it would be safer. Just like I predicted, Mitsukuni called Takashi an idiot and proceeded to flip his cousin onto the floor, about six inches from where I was standing.

"Just a little is okay, you cheap punk! Stubborn pig! Takashi... Takashi... I hate you!" Mitsukuni yelled as tears streamed down his face.

Takashi sat up, biting his lip a little as he looked down at the ground. Mitsukuni then left the room crying, with Tamaki following behind him. I looked down at Takashi and ruffled his hair a bit, making him look up at me. I just gave him a gentle smile and a nod of my head. I then turned and went after Tamaki and Mitsukuni, meeting them outside. I smiled at Mitsukuni and Tamaki and nodded my head a bit.

"Just listen alright?" I said softly as Tamaki and I leaned beside the doors, listening to Takashi explain why he had to be so strict and such.

I let out a small sigh, closing my eyes a bit. I could tell that Tamaki was looking at me, so I opened my eyes and looked back at him.

"You knew Ryuu-sempai?" he asked me quietly, causing me to nod my head.

"Hai. It's not hard to see that Takashi would do anything for Mitsukuni, and that he would blame himself for anything that happened to him. Why else would he do something to get himself hated?" I said softly, closing my eyes a bit.

I did the same thing for my sisters. They each ended up punching me out of their anger before going to their room. When Daichi-tou-san came in, I explained why I did what I did. In the end, my sisters came out of their room crying as they apologised.

Once Tamaki and I heard that Takashi was finished talking, and Kyoya finished explaining, we opened the doors for Mitsukuni, who looked ready to cry again. We each placed a hand on Mitsukuni's shoulders as he looked at us.

"And, that's the story, Honey-senpai." Tamaki said with a smile. "What shall we do now?"

"Hai, what do you think, can you forgive him?" I asked as Mitsukuni turned back to Takashi. "He made you hate him as punishment."

Mitsukuni let out a sniff as tears once again started flowing. He then ran to Takashi, apologising to him while Tamaki and I walked up to the rest of the club. We smiled a bit at the cousins glad that everything had finally settled for the week.

It was a few days later, after Mitsukuni finally got his cavity fixed, that he ordered a mountain of cake to devour. Looking at Kyoya, I couldn't help but laughing at how much it actually cost him. He had been saving money for three days thanks to the ban, but since it was lifted... well, I'm sure you can guess what happened.

As we watched Mitsukuni happily eat his snack food again, we turned and saw someone entering the club, and I instantly recognized her as the girl from a few days ago. Mumbling to myself, I grabbed my bag as Tamaki mused the girl, saying that she was a Takashi fan. My sisters noticed motion and tilted their head a bit as I walked over to the window, which was near Mitsukuni. From the corner of my eye, I saw that he had some cream on his face and chuckled a little.

"Mitsukuni, you have some cream." I and surprisingly Takashi said at the same time as we both wiped the cream off.

We looked at one another and smiled as the fan girls 'kya'd' at us.


	23. Chapter 23

I entered the club room earlier than usual so there wasn't anyone around, the place was empty, thank goodness. I had been semi-avoiding Takashi and the others about what had happened a few days ago, but I wouldn't say a thing. The main reason was because I didn't know myself what was going on. Shaking my head a little, I placed my books on the small table near the window, before sitting down on the window seat, leaning back against the wall while looking around at the people outside. I let out a small sigh as I closed my eyes a bit, I had been feeling abnormally exhausted as of late, and I felt that it wouldn't be too bad of an idea to take a short nap until the rest of the club entered.

"Just a ten minute nap, that's all." I murmured to no one in particular as my eyelids ship completely.

_I was standing in front of Ouran Academy, looking up at the castle like school beyond the gates. I was dressed in my old high school uniform, a black pleated skirt that came down to my knees, a white dress shirt, a black bow with a black vest on top with my school's crest on the left side. With my hair falling down to my shoulders I walked through the gate. I had a meeting that day with the Chairman, and I knew that Daichi-tou-san was already was already there waiting for me. As I got closer to the school, I started getting a feeling as if something was off._

"_Makoto-chwan! There you are!" I heard Daichi-tou-san coo as I entered the building._

_I looked up at him, seeing that he was dressed like a male and smiled at him. His hair was pulled back into a small ponytail and he was wearing black dress pants, a red dress shirt with a black jacket over top. I was thankful that he came with me, even though I told him that I could take care of everything, but I would admit, I was a tad nervous about doing this. Daichi-tou-san walked over to me, and instead of his usual hyper hug, he pulled me into a secure one._

"_Hai Daichi-tou-san, gomen for making you wait." I said as I hugged him back._

_I heard him laugh softly as we pulled a part. He wrapped a hand around my shoulder and we walked inside. Soon I was sitting down as Daichi-tou-san and the chairman talked. I listened carefully to what they were saying, but I couldn't help but look around the room we were in. I mentally sighed at this, for I knew this would be a while. As I sat, I couldn't help but think about what I was doing. I was changing high schools after one year, my first year out of middle school. The school I was going to wasn't going to be helping me with my future and I had to think about my sisters who were still in middle school._

"_Makoto-chan, I'm going to talk with your father some more. You can go look around, it's spring break so no one should be around." The chairman said, making me stiffen a bit as my eyes darted to Daichi-tou-san._

"_It's alright Mako-chan, go on, Daichi-tou-san will take care of everything." He said with a smile, his warm eyes reassuring me that everything was going to be alright._

"_Hai." I said as I stood up._

_I bowed to them and left the room, the heavy door closing behind me quietly. I looked down the barren hallways, wondering what they would look like full of students. I turned right and walked down the halls, the soft clicking of my shoes echoing around the hallway. I felt as if I was in a fairy tale, a weird notion, but the building itself, I would admit, looks to be out of one._

_As I walked along, I saw the multiple libraries as well as the reading room. I tucked some of my hair behind my ear as I started walking up the stairs. I paused at the large windows, watching as the birds flew past. The clock struck ten and I felt something pulling me down the hall. When I turned to look, I saw something pink scurrying passed me into the room. _

_Out of my curiosity, I followed it and hesitantly looked through the door. What I saw was a pink rabbit dancing round with a brown bear. I blinked a bit as they twirled around on the floor heading towards another door. I followed them, unaware that people were gathering behind me._

"_What's going on?" I murmured scratching the back of my neck a bit._

_Soon I heard the murmurs around me and turned around, there all around me, were ladies adorned in colourful dresses. Their faces were covered with masks and I could hear them whispering as they surrounded me. I looked around, trying to find the dancing bunny and bear, but saw that they were no longer around. Biting my lip a bit, I pushed myself through the crowd, trying to head to the door that suddenly opened on the other side of the room._

_As I tried my best to move forward, the hoard of girls kept getting thicker, pushing me back. I could hear the murmurs of how I wasn't 'presentable' or how the prince would never look at me. Gathering myself, I blocked out their voices and started pushing my way through. I had a feeling that if I continued, I would find the answers to why there were so many girls crammed into one room that had been empty only moments before. As soon as I got close to the door, it swung shut. I jumped a bit, for the noise was as loud as thunder and the room went silent._

_Before anyone could say anything trumpets sounded and the whispers continued, this time though, they were excited, whispering about the prince that was coming. Suddenly the hoard of girls started moving, and unable to get away, I was dragged with them through another door. But just as quickly as they went, they disappeared and I was left alone on the ground once more. I was slightly dizzy from the stampede of females that I was left on my knees, wondering what was going on._

"_Awe, we missed one." A male voice said from behind me, but before I could turn around, I was pulled into standing by two pairs of arms._

"_Yes we did, but since when did they allow commoners to attend these balls?" the other voice, which was similar, but deeper, than the voice from before spoke._

"_I don't know but let's get this one dressed before the royals find out." The voice before said and soon I was dragged into another room without so much as being asked._

"_Hey! What are you doing?" I demanded, turning around once the hands released me, glaring at the two males who were now in front of me._

_They were two redhead twins, who were younger than me. They were dressed in slacks, plaid shirts and brown shoes. One had a tape measure around his shoulders and a belt that held pins and clips. The other had a belt with scissors, and what I would guess was materials. I looked at them with slightly burrowed brows_

"_Be quiet, you are to only speak once spoken to." The one on the left snapped, seemingly impatient._

"_Don't mind him, here put this on, this is the latest..." I cut the male off, taking the dress that was held out to me._

"_Let me guess, it's the newest design of your mothers." I muttered, turning around and going into the change room that was behind me._

_I didn't hear the two say anything as I changed into the dress. I was surprised for it fit me perfectly. It was a halter top dress, and a slightly poofy skirt, all in the colour of a dark teal. Around the waist was a black and silver ribbon, which I tied around my back. _

_Once I was dressed I walked out of the change room, only to notice that I was alone again in a different room. In the center of it, bathed in a gentle light were two glass slippers. As I walked towards them, a hand blocked my path, causing me to stop instantaneously. I looked up the arm only to find that the one stopping me was a male with black hair, pale skin and dark grey eyes which were hidden behind rectangular glasses, that casted a glare in the little light._

"_Before you get the shoes, you must know that you have to leave the ball before the clock strikes twelve." He said, in an almost calculating voice._

"_And what happens if I don't?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, unsure why I was asking the question anyways._

"_Then I'm afraid that everyone will know that you're a fake. After all you put up a tough exterior, making it look like you're strong. These slippers will break if you don't take them off before at twelve. If they break, they will shoe everyone just how fragile you are." He said, pushing his glasses up with his other hand._

"_What kind of worth is that information to you anyway? Everyone puts on a front. It's not unheard of to hide your wounds from others." I said to him as I pushed passed his hand, "Besides, if these reflect myself, then they'll last after twelve, for at least twenty minutes." I added with a smile._

_When I reached the glass slippers I took them off of the pedestal, noticing that they were an inch heel. I slipped them on and let out a sigh as the room went dark again before a light appeared, this time eliminating a door to my left. I started walking towards it, but stopped just before I could open it. I let out a sigh as I opened the door and walked through it. I was soon in a giant ballroom, with chandeliers decorating the ceiling along with fancy lamps on the walls, giving the room a warm glow. Off to the side was a string orchestra, which were playing a waltz._

"_Ah, I see another princess has joined us." a voice appeared next to me, "Now, are you here to meet with our stoic prince? Or may I have the pleasure of being your first dance?" He offered me his hand, waiting for my answer._

_Turning to the voice, which startled me, I saw a male with blonde hair and vibrant purple eyes, he was dressed in the uniform of an ambassador, or visiting prince. Turning to the rest of the ballroom, I noticed couples dancing everywhere. On the stage, there were four people standing there wearing masks, as well as six others next to them, also wearing masks. _

_I turned back to the male and nodded my head, placing my hand in his and allowed him to lead me onto the dance floor, where all too soon a pair of eyes was locked onto my frame as I danced with the man. I would admit, he was a good lead, and a graceful dancer._

"_Would you mind if I asked why there is a ball being held in a school?" I asked, turning to the male, who just smiled as if he didn't hear what I had said._

"_Their Majesties are looking for a suitable bride for their eldest son. It's been rumoured though, that he found someone already, but doesn't know how to explain it to them." Was the answer, and all too soon the song was done._

"_But why? If he found someone, it shouldn't be difficult for him to just tell the... lady." I said, but the male was gone, lost to the crowd of dancing couples. _

_I made my way around the couples, only to find the snack table. I looked at the snacks, actually feeling a bit hungry and picked up a cupcake, fingering the little bunny on top. I tilted my head a bit, wondering why it looked so familiar to me, but I couldn't place it. I took a bit out of the treat and smiled, it wasn't too sweet._

"_Aren't these treats delicious? Un! I made sure that the cook made them just right!" I cheery voice said to my left, making me look down at a boy with blonde hair and honey brown eyes ,but I knew there was more to him, that what met the eyes._

"_Ah, they are. But if I may ask, why a bunny?" I asked him curiously, making him smile._

"_Because bunny's are the best!" he said, proceeding to stuff his face full of sweets._

_This caused me to chuckle a bit and shake my head a little as I noticed that he had some frosting on the cheek. Without thinking, I gently wiped it off for him._

"_You shouldn't eat so much, you might get a nasty toothache." I warned him, "So make sure you brush your teeth alright?"_

_He stared at me a bit, but then smiled brightly and nodded his head. I smiled back at him and soon started walking away from the table, the eyes following me where I went. I looked at where the gaze was coming from, and was surprised to find a tall male with short black hair, slightly tanned skin and dark eyes staring at me. I felt my cheeks flush up a bit as I notice him walking towards me. It seemed that my feet chose this time to stop working, for I was now rooted to the floor, while this male walked to me. Around me, I heard the females whispering to me, as the eyes from the royals locked onto us. But before the girls could interject, the male bowed to me, offering me his hand._

"_Would you like to dance?" hid deep voice penetrated me body, making me numbly nod my head as his dark eyes pierced through my green ones._

_A small push from behind, moved me forward. When I looked back, I saw a girl with short brown hair smiling knowingly at me, giving me a nod of approval before leaving into the crowd again. I placed my hand into his lightly, and felt him encase his large hand around my own and led me out onto the dance floor. The music had stopped, but after a nod from the guy, they started up and soon we were dancing. I was held in a comforting, strong grip, one that brought warmth throughout my body as we glided across the dance floor. I looked up at the man, and noticed how warm his eyes were when he looked at me. It was as if everything was fading away from us, and the only ones who existed were only him and me._

"_May I ask why you chose to dance with me? There are other girls, who are more beautiful than I out there." I murmured quietly._

_His grip tightened around my waist, pulling me closer to him. My cheeks heated up at this, and I stared at him wide eyed, in surprise. Before he answered my question, he twirled me around a bit before bringing me back into his arms, encasing me to him once more._

"_No one else matches the brightness that you give out." His quiet voice said softly as he stared into my eyes, "No matter how plain you may look, you will always stand out in my eyes."_

_Before I could respond to that, after my face burned from embarrassment, the clock struck twelve and the chimes snapped me out of the daze. I remembered the words of the man in the dark and bit my lip, feeling just how fragile the slippers were becoming._

"_I-I'm sorry... but I have to... go." I whispered to him as I broke away, running out into the crowd, which parted for me, the whispers following in waves._

"_How indecent of her, blowing off the prince like that." There was one strike._

"_The royal family definitely won't stand for this type of behaviour, who does she think she is." There was another one._

"_What does the prince see in her? She's acting like a commoner." There was the third strike._

_By this time I was out of the hall, running down the stairs, trying my best not to fall, but the slippers were getting in my way of it, so I kicked them off, and made a grab for them. But with the sound of footsteps behind me, I could only grab one of them as I made my way through the gardens. I had to stop though, for I was blocked off by the others who were with the royals, all of them surrounding me, including this prince. I bit my lip and took another path before they could fully surround me, the dress I was wearing before started turning back into my uniform._

_I'm not sure how long I ran, but soon I was back into the dark room again, letting out a sigh I looked at the glass slipper that was in my hand and frowned when I saw that it had some cracks in it. I placed a hand on my chest and felt how fast my heart was beating._

"_Why do you run so much? Don't you know it's alright to let yourself lean on someone when you're in need?" a voice asked me, causing me to whip around to face them._

"_What do you mean?" I asked as I placed the single slipper down. _

_The person came towards me, and I saw that it was the tall blonde, who had a knowing smile on his face as he picked up the slipper I just put down._

"_I mean this, after all, glass can only be so strong until it cracks. So it's a lot like a person. You keep running, trying to protect yourself." He said, making me frown._

'_Tamaki...'_

"_You didn't cry once when you were picked on, not even in your heart did you let yourself cry." Another voice said, beating me from speaking, a light came down, shining on the male who stopped me before I left for the ball._

'_Kyoya...'_

"_But even though you knew you were suffering, you never let anyone in close enough to help." Two female, and slightly identical voices chimed._

'_Yuzuki... Takara...'_

"_That's not true..." I started to say, but I stopped myself when the next light turned on, the masked man, who had a knowing smile on his face._

"_Yes it is. We've tried to help you through everything, but you always keep us arm length away, even when you're trying not to." He said with a sad smile on his face._

'_Daichi-tou-san...'_

"_You have always been independent, never once have you leaned on someone unless it was forced upon you." A somewhat sombre voice added._

'_Shun-kun...'_

"_You try to ignore what's right in front of you and you take on more than one should. This isn't healthy for one who still has so much to look forward to." When I turned to the voice, seeing a man standing by my father._

'_Renji-kun...'_

"_Un! Even though we try to help you through things, you ignore us, and fight on your own." The child like teen said, as he placed a piece of cake into his mouth._

'_Mitsukuni...'_

"_You do know what we're a family," one male voice said, "Even if we're not blood, we do look out for each other." The slightly deeper, but similar voice added._

'_Kaoru... Hikaru...'_

"_You're set on protecting everyone, but you've yet to protect yourself." This was a slightly teasing voice._

'_Akira-san...'_

"_You don't always have to put up a protective front around us, we're not going to judge you." A young voice put in._

'_Satoshi-kun...'_

"_Let us in, we won't hurt you like you think we will..." I didn't even have to look to know who that was._

'_Takashi...'_

"_You've grown a lot Makoto..." this voice startled me as I whipped around to face the last person who was in the dark. "I'm sorry for putting such a burden on you all these years... you are much stronger than I thought you would be."_

'_Yuri-kaa...-san...'_

"_I'm proud of you, we all are. But try to let someone else carry your burden and look after you... my dear daughter..."_

"...kaa-san... Taka...-kun..." I murmured, shifting a little in my position as a lone tear ran down my face.

I soon felt someone wipe the single tear away from my eyes, making my eyes flutter open. I soon saw the Host Club in today's cosplay, it was Cinderella themed, and everyone was dressed, almost exactly how I saw them in my dream. I then noticed that I had been moved to the couch, which would explain why I was so comfortable.

"Makoto, are you alright?" I looked up, and saw that it was Takashi who had wiped the tear away, for I could see it on his finger still.

I gave him a smile and nodded my head. I looked around at the Host Club, taking them all in, along with my sisters. Each of them looking at me in expectance, probably wondering what had happened.

"I'm fine, really I am. We're a family right? Wouldn't you guys know if something was wrong?" I asked with a small laugh.

This seemed to satisfy them, for they all smiled back at me, nodding their heads.

'I guess, it would be alright to let go what I'm feeling. These guys won't hurt me, after all, I have a feeling I can trust them with my life.' I thought, smiling at them warmly.


	24. Chapter 24

A few days passed after I fell asleep in the club room, no one asked me what I dreamed about, though, I had a feeling that Kyoya, and Takashi had an idea. For they were both giving me slightly odd looks, more so from Takashi, than Kyoya though.

Today we were out in the gardens again, this time all of us were wearing kimonos with some hair extensions to make it look like we were from the feudal era. I was wearing a red kimono top with black hakama bottoms with a purple sash around my waist. I was standing amongst the maple trees, practicing some Eskrima, a martial art that trains one with the use of knives, and something I had been wanting to try for a while. I had started training at a dojo a few weeks back, while I was living with Daichi-tou-san, Renji-kun and Shun-kun. My ponytail swished behind me lightly as I turned. Even though my eyes were shut, I was quite aware of what was going on around me.

Kyoya was talking to some customers about the stream he installed, Tamaki was having some 'alone' time with his customers, the twins were playing a matching game with their guests. Mitsukuni and Takashi were sharing a kimono, Mitsukuni's head was visible and Takashi was trying to feed him without seeing. Haruhi was by herself, like I was, and just enjoying the quite time she was able to have.

Tamaki had just ran into Haruhi, to 'protect' her from a stray ball that was headed her way thanks to Hikaru. I paused in mid step and opened my eyes partially; I had the feeling of eyes staring at me. My gut was right, for as I turned a bit to continue on with the section. My eyes focused on Takashi, who was now sitting beside Mitsukuni, who was talking to his customers. I titled my head a bit, watching as he murmured something to Mitsukuni, who smiled brightly at his cousin, and stood up.

Averting my eyes I continued to do the sets, closing my eyes again. I was about to do a jumping crescent kick, when it was blocked. I opened my eyes in surprise to find that Takashi had placed himself right where I was going to kick. My eyes widen at this as my feet gently touched the soft grass.

"Takashi! I could have hit you." I said, as I watched his eyes become gentle.

I knew that he would never intentionally put himself in harm's way, but it still worried me when I saw him there suddenly. I placed the knives in my hands back in their respected holders, and pouted a little at him. He noticed this, and shook his head at me, gently laying his hand on top of my head, ruffling my hair a bit.

"You wouldn't." He told me simply, while shrugging a little at the protest look that I had. "Makoto, trust me." He said, making me silent.

I pursed my lips together, and sighed through my nose. "Fine, but next time you come sneaking up on me, don't blame me if you get hurt." I stated, turning myself away from him.

The warmth from his hand left my head as I walked away from the group. I moved easily in my kimono, almost as if I had lived wearing them my entire life. I suppose I was over reacting just a tad with Takashi, but I just don't fully understand what is wrong with me at the moment. I pursed my lips together, and my brows furrowed as I thought a bit more. I've started to get a weird feeling in the pit of stomach every time I'm around my taller classmate. It's like I'm very anxious and I start getting nervous on the inside. I can't make eye contact with him that often, and more often than not, I've had to force myself not to blush whenever he goes to ruffle my hair.

Before my thoughts could continue, I heard a crash coming from one of the windows of the school. Turning my head at Tamaki and the twins, I let out an exaggerated sigh. You couldn't take those three anywhere, especially Tamaki. I started walking over to the three of them with a semi-irritated look on my face and lightly pinched Tamaki's ear, causing him to let out a yelp, and pout at me.

"What did you do this time Tamaki?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

Letting out a bit of a whimper, Tamaki tried to cower. The twins started laughing at him, and stopped once I set my gaze on them.

"It's not our fault Ryuu-senpai!" the twins stated.

"He was the one..." Kaoru started.

"Who kicked the ball..." Hikaru added.

"And broke the window." they finished together.

I let out a sigh as I let go of Tamaki's ear and walked over to the twins, who looked at me in worry. I ran a hand through my hair, giving them a dry look, as I placed my hands on my hips.

"I think you should apologize to whomever you just destroyed to window of." I said, giving Tamaki a dry look, making him pout at me some more.

"Demo Oba-san!" He whined as he latched onto me, his lower lip trembling a bit as I shook my head at him.

"Iie Tama-kun, you did wrong, now you have to apologize." I stated, crossing my arms across my chest as I pushed him off of me.

Before Tamaki could reply, Kyoya and the rest came over to us.

"Ryuu-senpai is right Tamaki. It won't bring good profit to the club if they know you didn't apologize for doing wrong." Kyoya said as he pushed his glasses up.

Tamaki let out another whine as he set out his gaze to Kyoya and myself again. His puppy eyes were in full effect, and not working on the two of us. I let out another sigh as I looked over at Kyoya, who was already looking over to me and sighed as well.

"Let's go Tamaki, minna." He said as he started walking away.

The rest of us followed, except for Tamaki, making me sigh a bit as my fingers locked on his ear and started pulling him along.

"Tamaki, that means you as well." I muttered, hearing him whine once more.

Soon we found ourselves in the Newspaper Club. Haruhi and I started cleaning up the broken glass, and replacing the window as Kyoya got Tamaki to apologize for everything. The twins were reading the paper, while Takashi and Mitsukuni helped us clean a bit.

I listened in on the conversation, and became suspicious when the newspaper chairman, Komatsuzawa Akira, a fellow classmate said that he actually wanted to ask us to do an interview with them. I tuned out the twins explaining to Haruhi what the newspaper club did, for I already knew. I made the mistake of getting one for free from Akira-san last year and reading it. It was complete garbage.

What caught me by surprise though, was when the three of them bowed to us, wanting to get people to read their paper before the semester was over. I wasn't very impressed by this, and I could tell that they had an ulterior motive of doing this.

Before Tamaki could agree to the conclusion, Kyoya stepped up, pushing Tamaki behind him, and I took it up to quieting Tamaki down, by covering his mouth, as Kyoya explained to the Newspaper Club that our 'information' was only for our customers. This caused the Akira-san to go into dramatics, claiming that he was getting dizzy. I rolled my eyes at this and let Tamaki go, already knowing where this was heading. Like I thought, Tamaki said that he would help the Newspaper club. I turned around, heading for the door, walking between Takashi and Kyoya, the former's shoulder brushing protectively against mine.

"Gomen Tamaki, but you have to see that not everyone has pure intentions." I said after the twins and Kyoya spoke what they thought about this.

Just as we reached the door, Tamaki turned serious, making me close my eyes.

"Do you guys have no feeling at all?" he said, "Seeing these people when their club is about to be dissolved, you don't feel sorry for them?"

He then turned around, tears falling down his face, as I looked back at him. I closed my eyes a bit, and sighed through my nose heavily as I looked over at Takashi and Kyoya.

"This is a family being broken up here!" Tamaki stated, and in sync, the newspaper club started crying, "These are chairman orders. I will not allow you guys to refuse."

I rubbed my head a bit as the twins and Kyoya looked back at Tamaki, telling him right out, that they refused. I shook my head as the seven of us continued back to our club room, ignoring Tamaki's cries of failure. If there was one thing I was glad about this club, was that there were some things that over ruled what Tamaki ordered.

We changed back into our school uniforms and went about sitting around. I was laying on the couch upside down, while Takashi read, and Mitsukuni ate. Kyoya, the twins and Haruhi were standing around, watching Tamaki like I was, with unamused faces.

I was listening to the twins say that Tamaki was angry at us, for he was still in his costume, sitting in his own corner, pushing the ball around with his fingers

"This is the so-called 'I'm-very-near-you-guys-but-I'm-not-going- to-look-at-you" childish method of quarrelling." Kyoya said, making me chuckle.

"But at least he's not ranting neh?" I mused.

"Because Tama-chan is a very lonely guy, neh?" Mitsukuni said as he ate his cake.

Looking back at Tamaki, I could tell what he was muttering about, after years of practicing lip reading at the orphanage.

"Club activity is all about making families... that's why a family is broken up when clubs are dissolved... That's why I feel sorry for them..." Tamaki had muttered.

I felt my eyes soften a bit at what he said, but knew that eventually we would have to agree, after all, if we knew Tamaki, he would start using his puppy eyes on us again. I closed my eyes a bit, just listening to what was being said around the club now and felt the cushions on the couch sink a bit near my right, the spot that was closest to the table. I opened up one eye and saw that Takashi had sat down with his book, his one arm resting close to my side. I eyed it wearily, like I always did when something was near my side.

My attention was taken from Takashi when I heard Tamaki making weird sounds and saw that he had the puppy eyes out in full blast. First Haruhi and I caved, then the twins and finally Kyoya. I mentally berated Tamaki for the use of puppy eyes, for it was completely unfair to the rest of us.

"... They must abide by the plan we submit for their special featured article." Kyoya said as I tuned back into the conversation, noticing that he had his notebook out. "One-on-one interviews are forbidden, basically. Scenes with our customers are also not allowed because they will cause trouble for the customers." He finished up, as he closed the notebook.

'He must have had that already planned out.' I thought as Kyoya asked if we were alright with that. Tamaki looked all too pleased at this, while Haruhi, and the twins weren't as enthusiastic about it. But since Kyoya was alright with it, so was everyone else. 'How else can the club run smoothly with Tamaki in charge.' I couldn't help but think.

Kyoya then left to inform the Newspaper club about our decision, and took along a first aid kit, though I had a sneaky suspicion that it was more than that. 'Knowing Kyoya, it probably has a tape recorder in it.' I thought blandly.

As I walked down the hallway to leave, I paused at the Newspaper club, hearing the voice of Akira-san. I leaned against the door, listening in on the males plan, and shook my head a bit. 'It will never work. You don't know that what you see with Tamaki is what you get. He doesn't burden us with his sorrows because he just wants us to be happy.' I thought, as I pushed myself up from the door, walking down the hallway once more as if nothing happened.

Once I got home, I made supper for my sisters, who had been out with old friends, then went on to do my homework, and getting ready for finals, which were just in a few days. After that, I cleaned a bit and wondered what the Newspaper Club was going to do. I didn't trust them, and I now knew the reason as to why. I laid down in my bed and looked up at the ceiling, wondering what we would be doing the next day.

The next day came and went and soon it was time for club activities. Tamaki decided to close the club for the day and play 'commoner' games. I didn't mind it, for it was quite funny to watch Tamaki accuse the twins of cheating. Currently we were playing 'Red light Green light'. I was standing next to Kyoya, watching Tamaki talk to the Newspaper club, who were starring at us as if we were aliens.

"Neh, Kyo-Kyo, what do you really think of having them follow us around?" I asked, lacing my hands behind my head.

Pushing up his glasses, Kyoya crossed his arms over his chest, and sighed a little. "I think it is completely pointless Ryuu-senpai, after all, with the suspicion of their true motive still in the dark. It's hard to decide what course of action to take." He told me, then gave me a smile, "But I'm sure if you would enlighten me of what you heard yesterday, I'm sure I could come up with something more concrete." He said.

I rolled my eyes at him and smirked a bit. "Iie Kyo-Kyo. I'm sure you already know what their after, can't you at least let me have a laugh for knowing something that you don't?" I asked.

Before he could reply, Tamaki called him over. As Kyoya left, he gave me a look, which caused me to chuckle. I didn't pay attention to the others as my sights zoned in on Akira, who had approached Haruhi.

"Akira-san. You promised not to get anyone alone." I said as I came up to them, startling the male.

"Ah! Makoto-san!" he said as he jumped.

I gave the boy a warning look as I snatched his notebook away, looking at the answers he put down.

"Maa, maa Akira-san, can't you just put the truth down for once instead of twisting around what everyone says?" I sighed heavily.

Next thing that happened was the twins coming up to us, and throwing down their hands, calling cut and dragging Haruhi and I away from Akira, while Takashi and Mitsukuni ran with us. Tamaki wasn't pleased with this started yelling at the twins. This made me laugh for they were doing it wrong.

After Tamaki calmed down, and everyone regrouped, we started playing 'Kick the can'. Soon Tamaki kicked the can, and the rest of us started running for cover. I ran into the trees, flipping myself up into one, and leaned against the trunk. I couldn't help but smile as I thought about the last time I had played these games. It had been quite a few years since I did. Looking at my watch, I figured it was time to head to the Newspaper Club room. Along the way, I met up with the twins. We opened the doors and they sat down facing the doorway as I sat behind them, looking at the medical box that I held in my lap. As I lifted it up, I could see where the tape was and placed it back on the desk as I leaned against the twins.

"Everything's all set." I mused, casting my eyes towards the doors, noticing Kyoya sitting on the newspapers.

"You knew everything Ryuu-senpai?" Hikaru asked me, and I only smirked at them for an answer, making them smirk as well.

Soon the doors opened and we were greeted by the surprised look from Akira.

"Hmm... so it was something like this after all." Kaoru mused as the twins' eyes looked at the Newspaper group deviously.

"You three..." Akira hissed, not knowing what to say.

"Well, it was kind of obvious. " Hikaru said.

"I'm pretty sure that the lord is the only one not aware of it yet." Kaoru finished, "That man's pretty slow when it comes to things about him."

"Let me say this: We won't go easy on you if you touch our lord." Hikaru said as I straightened up a bit, prepared to say what I wanted after the twins were done.

"Are you prepared... to face the Hitachiin and every other club's members' family as enemies?" Kaoru finished.

"Besides the worry of families after yours. You also have the rest of the club, who'll do anything for Tamaki. If you touch him, I swear that you won't be able to show your face in this school again." I said dangerously.

I was very protective of my friends, and I found the club to be like a second family, and I would do anything to protect them.

The look on Akira's face made me smirk as he paled, he was scared of us, something I wasn't surprised of. But soon he became angry as he backed away a bit.

"So Suoh is using his parents' power and giving out orders like that, right?" he said, making me sigh heavily.

He was a worse idiot, that I thought. I looked behind him and saw Takashi and Mitsukuni.

"You're wrong." Mitsukuni said, causing Akira to stop in his tracks, "Tama-chan wouldn't do that. You know, we all love Tama-chan." He said, his face becoming gentle, for it was true.

"Even though he is a hopeless idiot." Kyoya stated, after pushing his glasses up a bit.

As the club talked to Akira, I got off my seat, patting down my pants as I thought back to when Tamaki first came up to me. I'm sure the others were thinking about their interactions with the tall blonde.

"_Ah! You must be Ryuunosuke-senpai neh?" a first year Tamaki said as he walked up to me. _

_I was at my locker, gathering my things for the day and looked at him curiously. Pushing hair out of my eyes, I tilted my head at him, wondering who he was. Not many people talked to me for I was new and didn't properly fit in._

"_AH, hai. Ano... gomen, but I don't know who you are..." I said rubbing the back of my head a bit._

"_Ah! Gomen Ryuunosuke-senpai! My name is Suoh Tamaki!" He greeted with a smile on his face._

_I smiled back at him and offered him my hand in greeting. He smiled back, and took my hand, shaking it._

"_Konnichiwa Suoh-san, it's nice to meet you." I said with a bit of a chuckle._

"_Konnichiwa Ryuunosuke-senpai, it's nice to meet you as well." He said with a bright smile, "You would mind if I walked with you a bit Ryuunosuke-senpai?" he asked as we brought our hands apart._

I smiled at the memory and turned back to the others. I leaned against the table, as I looked at Akira.

"You do know you can't win right?" I mused.

"And? What are you going to do?" the twins said looking at Akira.

"Stop doing these things already." Mitsukuni added.

The look at Akira's face made me frown as he cursed under his breath.

"Damn it. It's not just Suoh anymore! I'm going to destroy all of you!" he said, making me sigh.

Kyoya soon got up and walked over to the desk. "Be my guest." He said as he picked up the first aid kit. "Demo, what should we do about this disc... that's been listening and recording your comments since yesterday?" he mused as he popped the disc out.

Kyoya then started walking forward, as he started to speak again.

"If I had to say it in your manner, then it'd be something like this: With the shares our Ootori group and the Hitachiin family hold, we can freely change the president of your father's publishing company, so keep that in mind." He started. "Demo, we're not like you. What we strive for is fundamentally different."

After the defeat of the Newspaper club, we all went down to get Haruhi and Tamaki. Both were in the rose maze, sitting in a gazebo. I couldn't help but smile at the two of them as I stood next to Takashi.

"Found you." Kyoya said, snapping the two of them from their little nap.

"What happened to the Newspaper Club?" Tamaki asked us as we walked out of the maze.

"They cancelled the interview on some business. They said they'll be writing honest articles now." The twins said. "So their club won't get dissolved."

"Hai, they said it would be best for them to turn over a new leaf." I mused.

Tamaki seemed surprised at this, telling us that it was fine. Mitsukuni then purposed that we get back to the club room quickly for some cake. Tamaki thought about it for a moment and agreed as he started chanting 'cake'.

I hung back a bit, behind Kyoya and Haruhi, as the latter asked Kyoya if Tamaki's family was really that powerful. Kyoya explained what they held money in, some hotels, some theatres, and the school, which apparently Haruhi didn't know about. I laughed a bit as she took time to get it through her head. I ruffled her hair a bit and gently pushed her so she wouldn't get lost, after Tamaki called to her.

"We're coming Tama-kun. Just let Haru-chan get her mind wrapped around something." I said, laughing still.


	25. Chapter 25

About three weeks passed with finals and no more trouble from anything other than the host club itself. It was summer break now, something my sisters and I were grateful for. We had spent the last two weeks staying with Daichi-tou-san, Renji-kun, and Shun-kun for the start of our summer. But when Ranka-kun told them that Haruhi was going to be staying at their friend's pension in Karuizawa. Daichi readily suggested that I went with her to keep her company while Takara and Yuzuki stayed with them.

So here I was at the pension, helping around the building, mainly in yard, doing work. Currently, I was wearing some faded ripped old jeans as well as an olive green tank top and a white bandana around my head to help keep me cool. I was weeding the flower beds, and just enjoying the crisp fresh air of the morning. I sat back on my heels, stretching my arms out with a sigh, I stood up, wiping my hands on my jeans as I grabbed the bucket of weeds and heading over to the compost to depose of them. As I walked back to the pension, I met up with Haruhi who was hanging up the laundry she just finished washing.

"Ah! Makoto-senpai!" she greeted with a smile and a wave.

I couldn't help but grin back at her, waving in return as I headed over to her.

"Maa Haru-chan, you're so much more relaxed neh?" I teased her, causing her to laugh a bit.

"Hai! It's so beautiful out here, and just relaxing." She said as she picked up the basket of laundry.

I nodded my head, agreeing with her. It was also nice because it was quite, and we could concentrate on our studies a bit more. But as we gazed up into the clear sky, I couldn't help but think it was going to be a good summer, except for one little thing...

"HARUHI! OBA-SAN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? DADDY'S HERE!" Tamaki appeared in a helicopter, yelling at us over a loud speaker.

And as always, when Tamaki was around, so were the others. Not that I have anything against them or anything. But... a nice quite summer vacation would have been nice to have. Oh well.

"Tamaki... you're such an idiot..." I grumbled, running a hand through my hair, which I noticed was hanging close to my shoulders now, in irritation.

I let out a sigh and walked inside along with Haruhi. I had a feeling Kyoya knew all along that we were here, and I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't bother telling Tamaki about it, or anyone else for a fact. As we walked in, we were greeted by the Host Club, who were talking to Misuzu-cchi. He was, like Ranka-san a cross-dresser, and was swooning at the sight of the club.

"My... what a lovely bunch of cute boys!" he said, "Are you all Haruhi-chan's and Makoto-chan's acquaintances?" he asked, making me sigh.

I ran a hand through my hair a bit as I started working again. I knew if I didn't, I would be inclined to use sarcasm with my repugnance of the situation. I started cleaning the tables of the left over plates, taking them to the back as they talked.

"Since Ranka-san went on a staff trip, Daichi-san asked Makoto-senpai to look out for Haruhi while she was here." Kyoya explained when Mitsukuni asked why Haruhi and I were working here.

I shot a look at Kyoya, and shook my head at him. I really should ask him to stop talking to my father so much. Misuzu-san then went on about how the place wasn't affluent enough to employ staff yet, and that Haruhi and I were really helping him out. As well that we were really hard workers, as he said this, he grabbed me and Haruhi by the shoulders, shaking us a little. All the while saying how he felt back for our salaries were low.

Turning Haruhi around, I managed to escape to the kitchen, while Misuzu-san started on Haruhi's apron. As I let Haruhi deal with the Host club, I started replacing the table cloths on the inside. As I made my way around the pension, I couldn't help but wonder what the summer would bring us. I walked outside, just as the club was bothering Haruhi, for not getting permission to get a part time job. I felt their eyes on me, causing me to roll them as I took out a form, holding it up.

"Don't try your schemes on me. I got permission." I told them deadpan as I walked off to the gardens again.

I had done the same thing the year before, since I wanted to earn some money to save up for my sisters tuition as well as my university tuition. I felt eyes on me as I walked away, grabbing the pail and shovel that I had left behind when I went inside. Kneeling down next to the flowers again, I started pulling up the weeds, listening to the loud conversation that was happening behind me. I looked up a bit, at the mention of the club staying at the pension, and raised an eyebrow at that as Misuzu-san told them that there was only one room available.

I already had a feeling of what the twins were going to purpose once Tamaki started going on about how, since he was chairman, would get the room. The twins then purposed that they impressed Misuzu-san by working, then he would decide who got to stay. Shaking my head at it, I continued pulling the weeds, until someone stood in my light, causing me to stare up, and saw Takashi and Mitsukuni.

"Makoto! How come you didn't stay with us?" Mitsukuni asked with a pout as Takashi put him on the ground.

"Gomen Mitsukuni, Takashi, but Daichi-tou-san wanted Yuzu-chan, Taka-chan and I to stay with him, Renji-kun and Shun-kun for a few weeks." I said as I went back to work.

They seemed to accept my answer and sat down next to me, helping me silently. It was nice to have their company, and to be honest, I wouldn't have minded spending my summer with them, but I did promise my sisters that I would take them to the beach sometime again after I got my licence. This would be occurring within the next week after my birthday which was the next day. Unknown to anyone but my family, Haruhi and Kyoya.

"Are you staying here with Haru-chan Makoto?" Mitsukuni asked after a few minutes of silence.

I smiled down at him, chuckling lightly and shook my head a bit.

"Iie, I'm staying at a local motel to save room for other guests here." I told him.

I think this displeased him for he stared at me with sad eyes. I think this caught Takashi off guard as well for I felt his eyes on me. I turned my head towards him, surprised to see his lips in a thin line, which meant that he was displeased with something.

"Takashi, Mitsukuni don't worry about where I'm staying okay? Just have fun here." I told them with a smile before standing up with the now full bucket of weeds, making my way back to the compost.

The rest of the day, Haruhi and I spent the time watching everyone 'work'. It was quite amusing with how Misuzu-san rated the host club work like commoners. Tamaki was trying to fix the fence that I had been planning on working on. To say that he wasn't doing well, was an understatement. Mitsukuni was sitting next to him eating cake and soon both of them had a negative three points. I shook my head at them as I made my way to the garden with a basket.

As I was crouched down picking the fresh vegetables, I noticed Takashi coming out of the pension, carrying a table, one that was wobbly. Shaking my head again, I continued to pick the vegetables until the basket was full. Once it was, I stood up, carrying it in my arms as I made my way towards the kitchen. The basket was quite large and a little heavy, so I was starting to have some troubles opening the door. Pouting a bit, I tried to open the door while balancing the basket on my chest.

"Oh come on... please open..." I couldn't help but whine.

When I was about to give up and put the basket down, the door opened suddenly, almost slamming into me. This startled me though, for I accidently lost my balance while trying to keep a grip on the basket. Quickly though arms snatched me around the waist, steadying me as my back was pressed against a sturdy chest. Flushing, I timidly looked up and saw that it was Takashi who had caught me.

"Arigato Takashi." I said with a smile as he gently steadied me back on my feet.

He looked down at me and smiled back, nodding a bit. Before I could say anything else, he took the basket from my arms, holding the door open. I then noticed that he was topless, giving me a very good view of his toned muscular chest, and well defined arms. I couldn't help but gulp a bit as I bit my lip, adverting my eyes before anyone could see. I felt my cheeks heat up a bit more as I opened my arms up for the basket.

"Wha-what were you doing before you caught me Takashi?" I asked shyly as he placed the basket back into my arms, where I started to hug it a bit.

"Cutting wood." He replied, leaning against the doorframe a bit.

I titled my head a bit as I looked back up at him. I tried to think what we would need wood for, and realized that it would be for the fireplace. I smiled at him and nodded my head.

"Sokka." I said, as the two of us walked inside towards the kitchen.

I handed Takashi a towel for him to use. He took it with a smile and soon he placed his shirt on. I had started washing the vegetables, and he soon started helping me. The two of us working in comfortable silence. Every now and then our hands would brush up against one another as we reached for the vegetables. This caused my redden face to redden even more.

It was near the ending of the day now, and the winner has yet to be announced. Tamaki had finally found the piano in the dining room and was playing sweet melodies. I was serving some customers while he did this, and I heard many people compliment on the music choice. I just smiled at them and nodded my head, not knowing what else to do since this was Tamaki after all.

Soon though, I heard a crash coming from outside, and hurried out to see what had happened. There, I saw that Kaoru had pushed Haruhi out of the way of a falling vase, and the girls who accidently knocked it over were apologising about it. Before I could head over, I saw Hikaru making his way over to his twin. All too soon, the twins had gained Misuzu-san's approval for staying at the pension. Letting out a sigh, I helped Haruhi tear down for the evening as the twins made themselves at home in their room.

"Well, I'm going to head to the motel Misuzu-san. I'll see you in the morning." I called, taking the bandana from my head and lightly wiping the accumulated sweat and dust from my face.

I left the pension, and started walking down the street to the motel I was staying at. Along the way, I heard another pair of footsteps heading towards me and I recognized them as Takashi's. Pausing in my walk, I looked back, not being able to help but smile at him as he reached me. Then we began walking once more.

"Is something wrong Takashi?" I asked after a few minutes of silence, "You seem to have something on your mind all day."

He didn't answer me right away, making me look at him curiously. His dark eyes were focused forward on the road as we neared the motel. I furrowed my brows a bit as I thought about what could be bother him so much. But before I could take enough time to think, I was stopped by Takashi, who placed an arm in front of me.

"Stay..." he said quietly, and then furrowed his brows again.

I stepped in front of Takashi, looking at him with a tilted head.

"Stay where?" I asked quietly, my heart beating loudly.

The sun was setting around us, when Takashi looked me in the eyes. We looked at each other for a few minutes.

"At the summer home." He said quietly, the frown still on his lips, "Not at a motel... you could get hurt." He whispered, his hands gently moving the stray hair out of my eyes before moving to my shoulders.

"At your summer home Takashi?" I asked nervously and hesitantly.

He didn't answer me per say, but he nodded his head in confirmation. I didn't know what to say about that. I expected that they wouldn't be pleased with me staying at a motel, but to offer a place at one of their homes? I bit my lip a little, not sure what to say to that. His hands tightened around me, pulling me against his chest, so we were now in the middle of the darkening street with his arms around me.

"Stay... so I-we know you're safe from harm." He whispered into my ear, causing my breath to hitch in me throat.

I could never say no to Takashi, even as ridiculous as it sounded, I couldn't help but not want to fight him. Besides, even though I'd never say this to any of the Host Club, the motel I was staying at wasn't the nicest. I let out a small sigh, wrapping my arms around Takashi's torso and leaned my head against his chest a bit.

"Alright Takashi, I'll stay. I wouldn't want to worry you so much." I whispered to him, feeling him relax as I spoke.

His arms tightened around me just a little, as his head rested lightly against my own. I could bet anything, that he was smiling right then and there. Slowly we let go of each other, and started walking again towards the motel so I could collect my stuff. As we walked, our hands lightly brushed against one another, and ever so hesitantly, I linked our fingers a bit, feeling the warmth of his hand flow into my own. I shyly looked up at him, as he looked down at me, and we both gave a small smile. My cheeks were burning now, and I could see a light blush on his cheeks as well.

Unbeknownst to either of us, two pairs of eyes were watching us. One writing something down in a notebook, planning something, while the other smiled happily, while hugging their doll to their chest.

Once reaching the motel, I gathered my single duffle bag, not like I needed much and nodded over at Takashi, who had been looking around the room I had been renting, with a frown. I rolled my eyes a bit as he raised his eyebrow at me, signalling that he was surprised with my choice. I shook my head, taking his hand again, and bid farewell to the motel keeper, letting Takashi lead us to his summer home.


	26. Chapter 26

_I was walking along in the woods with Takashi by my side. We had been forced out of the pension together for the day. I think Kyoya and Mitsukuni decided to set us up on a date, but that's just me speculating things. I was jolted out of my thoughts when I felt Takashi warp his hand around mine, causing to look up at him with a blush on my face._

_He smiled down at me and we continued walking, trying to find a nice place to stop for a little break. We saw a gazebo up ahead. I don't know why there was a gazebo in the middle of the woods, but it was a convenience since it started to rain. We took cover in the gazebo, watching as the rain started to pound against the roof._

_I'm not sure how long I was staring out at the rain, but when I felt arms wrap themselves around me, I looked up, seeing Takashi pressing me close to him. He then pulled me back a bit, away from the banister, keeping me close the entire time, the warmth of his body, wrapping itself around me._

"_Don't want you to get cold." He whispered into my ear, gently nuzzling my shoulder with his nose._

_I smiled as I leaned against him, wrapping my arms around his, keeping him close to me as well. I closed my eyes, noticing the slight scent of his cologne sneak into my nose as I took a deep breath._

"_I don't think I could around you." I whispered back to him, feeling the grip of his arms tighten a bit more around me._

_He gently turned me around, cupping my face in the palm of his hand and leaned towards me, his nose gently brushing against mine, his face coming closer to my own that I could feel his breath hitting my lips..._

I opened my eyes, with a pout placed on my lips. My heart reminding me of what I had just dreamt. I felt it squeeze a little in pain of what would have happened if I had just stayed asleep just a little longer. I mentally groaned as I pushed myself from the oddly plush bed I was in. I looked around the large room, my brows furrowed in thought as I realized that I was, in fact, staying at Takashi's summer home, with him only across the hall from where I was.

Letting out a sigh, I flopped down on the bed, closing my eyes, trying to force myself back to sleep so I could return back to my dream. Though, I was afraid of what it meant, after all, a dream like that, could mean just about anything.

Opening my eyes again, I let out a frustrated sigh, sitting up once more as I removed the covers from my pyjama covered body. I slipped off the bed, letting out a yawn as I made my way out of the bedroom. I had the day off since it was my birthday, on the insistence of Misuzu-san. I walked down to the kitchen, remembering where it was from the slight tour that Takashi had given me the night before.

Deciding to make breakfast for Takashi and I, I searched the cupboards, finding the ingredients for making some French toast, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Humming lightly to myself, I started to cook, feeling myself waking up as I continued to cook. Humming a bit to myself, I found some lemons and decided that it would be a good to have some lemonade to drink.

About an hour passed when I got everything done, and I noticed that Takashi was still asleep. Tilting my head a bit, I looked at the clock, noticing that it was around eight o'clock. I blinked a bit, wondering exactly how long I had been up for. Shrugging it off, I prepared a plate and glass for Takashi, deciding to take it to him since he seemed to be tired for some reason. Probably from doing all those chores for Misuzu-san the day before. I placed the plate, some utensils and the glass on a tray that I found, making my way over to Takashi's room, lightly knocking on his door. When I didn't get an answer, I tilted my head a bit and knocked once more, a little harder.

"Takashi? Are you awake? I made some breakfast." I said, lightly knocking again.

I heard some shuffling before the door opened, revealing a tired looking Takashi, who was rubbing his eyes a bit with his hand. His hair was flattened from sleeping on it, and he was only wearing black night pants. His dark eyes seemed to be smoldering me as we looked at each other. I immediately flushed and turned my head away, holding out the tray for him.

"Gomen Takashi... I shouldn't have woken you... I just thought you might want some breakfast before heading over to the pension for the day." I said, with a surprisingly calm voice.

He was quiet when I heard his feet shuffle a bit, back into the room, and I took that as a signal to follow him. I entered his room, noticing that it was almost the same as the one at his mansion back in the city. Simple, clean, and relaxed. I looked over at the bed and noticed that Takashi was sitting down on it, and he motioned for me to join him, which I did.

"Makoto, don't you have to be working?" he asked me as he took the tray from my hands, placing it on the bedside table.

"Iie, Misuzu-san gave me the day off." I said, leaning back on my hands a bit.

"That was nice of him." He said, as he pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear, "Your hair is growing longer." He noticed, twirling a piece of it around his finger.

His eyes were on me, solely on me, never straying, never wavering as I nodded my head.

"Hai, I'm thinking of cutting it again, after all, I still need to keep up appearances as a male neh?" I said with a small chuckle.

"Iie, I think you should grow it out. To about here." he said quietly, his fingers tracing down to the tip of my shoulder, where it still had another inch to grow too. "That would look good on you." He had leaned closer to me, so his breath was hitting the side of my neck, which startled me.

Before I had the chance to jump up, I became trapped between Takashi and the bed. The former was leaning quite close to me, making me feel uncomfortable, for I wasn't sure what he was going to do. When I looked in his eyes, I felt a rush of warmth flood into my cheeks as I tried to lean back away from Takashi, who, in turn followed me. I bit my lip hard as I looked into his eyes, finally noticing that he was looking quite tired, for his eyes were slowly shutting on him.

His head fell onto my shoulder, his eyes closing, freezing me from any and all movements. I was trapped, not being able to move, with Takashi, now fast asleep on me. Summoning my strength, I was able to turn him over, onto his back, causing a grunt of disapproval to leave his lips, as I replaced his sheets over his body once more. Looking down at him, I couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle. Takashi looked like an angel while he slept. His facial features were gentle, calm, carefree, and even happy. Some of his hair fell in front of his face, and I gently brushed it away as I turned to the tray that I had brought.

I shook my head a bit and picked up the tray, walking out of Takashi's room, closing the door quietly behind me, so I didn't wake him up again. Walking down to the kitchen, I placed Takashi's plate into the oven, putting it on low so his food would stay warm, before eating my share, and washed the dishes up. I then went back to the room I was staying in and took my duffle bag with me into the bathroom, so I could shower and dress.

Looking down at him, I couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle. Takashi looked like an angel while he slept. His facial features were gentle, calm, carefree, and even happy. Some of his hair fell in front of his face, and I gently brushed it away as I turned to the tray that I had brought.

I shook my head a bit and picked up the tray, walking out of Takashi's room, closing the door quietly behind me, so I didn't wake him up again. Walking down to the kitchen, I placed Takashi's plate into the oven, putting it on low so his food would stay warm, before eating my share, and washed the dishes up. I then went back to the room I was staying in and took my duffle bag with me into the attached bathroom, so I could shower and dress.

After showering, I stepped out into the foggy bathroom, and started drying myself off. I rummaged through my duffle bag, trying to find a clean pair of pants and shirt, only to see that there wasn't any that were clean. The only thing that was, was a summer dress in the colour of light purple with blue and pink flowers along the bottom of the dress. Around the waist was a blue ribbon that tied around my back, right under my bust.

I sighed at this, but put the dress on anyway, before walking back into the room, a towel wrapped around my shoulders, so I could dry my hair better. Setting my duffle bag down, I sat on the bed, drying my hair while I looked through the side pocket with my feet, and saw that my sisters had in fact, stuck a pair of dress flat into my bag along with this dress. Shaking my head, I draped the towel onto the bed and slipped the flats on. Standing up, I picked up the towel and walked back to the bathroom, hanging the towel back up. I then grabbed my brush and started brushing my hair, pinning it back a little so it didn't hit my neck.

Grabbing my string purse, I put my wallet, and a few other things in it, then walked out of the room. I headed back to the kitchen again. It was around nine now, since I last saw Takashi. I was feeling a bit hungry again, and looked for something light to munch on. I found some fruit, and grabbed an apple, biting into it. I leaned against the counter, munching on the apple, and made sure that I hadn't burnt Takashi's breakfast.

As I was taking it out of the oven, I heard footsteps, and a yawn from behind me, causing me to turn around, to see Takashi, walking into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes a bit, to get the sleep out of them. I smiled at him as I placed the plate in front of him, as well as some utensils.

"Ohayou Takashi." I said with a smile, noticing that he was fully dressed.

"Ah, Ohayou Makoto." He replied as he sat down on one of the stools that sat on the other side of the counter.

I couldn't help but flush though, remembering what had happened earlier that morning. As Takashi ate his breakfast, I finished the apple, and placed it in the garbage. We were silent as Takashi ate his breakfast. I busied myself with cleaning up the counters and oven, putting the pitcher of lemonade into the fridge. Having my back turned to Takashi, I didn't notice him coming up behind me as I finished up the dishes, placing his empty ones next to me.

I looked up at him, with a nod and smile as I started on his dishes. I was surprised though when he grabbed the drying towel from my shoulder and stood next to me, drying the dishes that were on the drying rack. I looked over at him with a tilted head, wondering what he was thinking about.

"Takashi, when are we going to be meeting up with the rest of the club?" I asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Soon, after the dishes." He replied as I handed the last of the dishes to him.

I nodded my head and cleaned the sink after draining the dirty water. I used another towel to dry it up, before washing my hands, then drying them.

"Are we picking Mitsukuni?" I asked turning to him as I hung up the towels.

"Iie, he said he'll meet us at the pension." He told me causing me to nod my head.

Soon we headed towards the door, planning on going to the pension. While we walked down the street, I felt something lightly tugged on my hand. Looking down, I saw that Takashi had lightly intertwined our fingers together. I blushed at this and leaned a little closer to him, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze as we continued walking down the street. People all around us were going about their day, laughing and talking with one another. I looked around at some of the stalls, making metal notes about which ones to revisit when I got kicked out of the pension. When we got there, our hands released themselves from another as we walked inside.

What I saw when we got in there was Haruhi sitting across from a boy that I vaguely remembered from my last year in middle school. The rest of the club, expect for Tamaki, was sitting at a table, enjoying some tea as Takashi and I joined them. I noticed from the corner of my eye that Tamaki was shredding something in a corner, adjacent to the two.

"What's going on with Tama-kun?" I asked curiously, sitting on a bar stood next to Kaoru, while Takashi took a seat next to Mitsukuni.

"Ah Ryuu-senpai! Tono is just depressed because Haruhi didn't acknowledge him as her senpai." Kaoru replied with a slight shrug.

"Sokka, and if I'm right, this guy's Haru-chan's old classmate neh." I mused, resting my head in my hand.

Soon I tuned into Hikaru's criticizing words about Haruhi's friend, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him, and at how jealous he was being. I couldn't help but think that he was as bad as Tamaki with how he felt towards Haruhi. I watched the two, noticing that the male was a little flushed when he looked at Haruhi. This made me chuckle for it seemed that everyone was crushing on the girl.

I'm not sure how much more time went, but Hikaru became more and more annoying with his snide comments. I stood up , flattening my skirt down just as Haruhi stood up, saying Hikaru's name, telling him that he's was being a jerk. Aria-san then told us that he had a crush on Haruhi when they were in middle school, surprising all of us, including Haruhi, but I wasn't surprised about that. She wasn't the type to notice another's feelings of others. Though, I couldn't help but chuckle at the story, I wasn't surprised about it. I looked over towards Hikaru, seeing the look on his face and ruffled his hair a bit.

"Don't look so jealous Hikaru. I'm sure your day will come." I teased him quietly.

The look on his face was one that held confusion, while the look on Kaoru's face was one of slight amusement as he snickered a little. Hikaru scowled at me as he turned back to his empty glass, which I took as dismissal. I notice everyone gathering around Aria and Haruhi. I smiled at that as I decided to take my leave, to go out. As I made my way towards the door, I heard the sound of skin making contact with skin, and looked back over my shoulder, seeing that Haruhi had just slapped Hikaru across the face. Shaking my head I left the pension, knowing that in some way he would make it up to Haruhi, though, it would probably be by force.

As I walked down the street, I noticed that Aria was riding down the street on his bike. I waved as he passed me, getting a wave in return as I walked over to one of the stalls that I had spotted before. It was a jewellery stall, and I was curious to see what they had. Even though I was very big on jewellery, I didn't mind looking at them, or getting some if I liked them. As I gently fingered a piece of jewellery, a charm bracelet, I felt someone come up next to me. I thought it was another patron, like myself, so I didn't give it any thought as I tried the bracelet on. It fit nicely around my wrist, it currently only had one charm on it, a Chinese symbol that meant sincerity. The meaning of my name, ironically.

"You should get it." A voice told me, causing me to jump and whip around startled.

"Takashi! You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that!" I scolded lightly, unable to hide the blush or smile on my face.

There Takashi was, standing next to me, looking at me with amusement in his eyes. He didn't say anything though, but the upturn in the corner of his lips, made me knew he had enjoyed startling me. I pouted up at him as I turned back to the vendor, and started taking off my bracelet, but Takashi's large hand covered mine, topping me from doing so. I looked up at him curiously, watching as he shook his head, taking out some money to pay the vendor. I frowned at Takashi, but before I could stay anything, I noticed that he was buying something else, but he had hid it in his pocket before I could see what it was. Takashi then turned to me, with the smile still on his face as he took my hand in his own, taking me to another vendor to look at what they had. This caused me to laugh a bit, for I didn't think Takashi was a person to like shopping.

"Takashi, are you sure you want to shop?" I asked, watching his expression, lightly tugging on his hand so he would look at me.

When he did, I saw in his eyes that he actually didn't mind going around looking at stuff. I felt his hand gently grip my own. We continued walking then, just looking at the attractions and not buying any more besides from the one vendor. Our shoulders soon touched lightly as we walked, the crowds were letting thicker as people pushed by us, forcing us to get closer to one another.

It was around midday, getting close to supper time when the winds started picking up. Takashi and I were walking in the woods when the sound of thunder rumbled in the sky. We both paused in our steps, and looked up at the sky. We continued walking, hoping to find a shelter before the rain hit. We weren't lucky though, for the rain it just moments after the flash of lightning, when the rain hit full force, drenching us completely.

I couldn't help but laugh when Takashi gently tugged my hand, pulling me not only closer to him, but faster as we looked for shelter. It was about a half an hour later when we spotted an old shrine up ahead. Looking at each other from the corner of our eyes and nodded to each other, picking up some speed, reaching the shrine.

Once in the shrine, I couldn't help but look out, hearing the thunder crash while the wind and the rain picked up. I was entranced by the scene of the rain, wind, thunder and lightning, that I didn't notice Takashi look at me, until I felt his arms bring me to him, surprising me, and snapping me out of my trance. He gently pulled me deeper into the shrine, shielding me and him from the elements. I looked up at Takashi, leaning against him a bit since he wasn't going to get me go it seemed.

"Don't want you to get sick." He murmured to me, "You're prone to getting sick."

I flushed a bit at that and nodded my head, already knowing that it was true. We went to the neck of the shrine, finding some pillows to sit on. Takashi sat us down together, with me in between his legs, trying to keep the two of us warm with our body heat. We were silent, until I started sneezing a little, and squirmed a bit in his arms.

"Taka-kun, could you let me up so I can look for some blankets?" I asked with a pout as I looked up at him.

He seemed to hesitate at this, but soon enough he agreed and released me from his arms, letting me stand up. I walked over to some of the cupboards there, and searched through them, looking for something that was relatively dry. In the end of my search, I found two thick blankets and walked back to Takashi with a smile. He smiled back and took the offered blanket from me, wrapping it around his shoulders as I did the same with the one in my hands.

It didn't seem like the storm was going to let up anytime soon so we made our way back to the shrine, sitting down again. We were silent for a while, and I couldn't help but lean a bit against Takashi's shoulder. I felt his arm wrap around me shoulders a bit, feeling his warm, but damp skin, brush against my damp blanket. I shivered a little, and felt him pull me closer to him, securely trapping me at his side so he could share his warmth with me.

"Arigato Taka-kun." I said softly, closing me eyes a bit.

In response, instead of using words, I just felt soft lips brush against my temple, causing me to blush deeply. I looked up at him shyly as he looked down at me, his other hand brushing away the damp, scattered hair that was matted against my face, gently tucking it behind my ear. His hand left a trail of warmth against my skin, as his hand delayed on my cheek, his thumb gently brushing against my cheek, in a feather light touch.

I leaned against his hand a bit, opening my eyes a little. My eyes traveled up his face, taking in his high cheeks, soft, tanned skin, and angled features, I knew why girls swooned over him for his looks and his silent, protective stature. But I knew that there was more to Takashi than what meets the eye. He was kind, gentle, caring, understanding, fun, patient and more.

I didn't realize Takashi had moved us, or rather, moved me onto his lap, and moved us towards the entrance, but a few feet away so we weren't hit by the storm. I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts, and tilted my head at Takashi, wondering what was on his mind. He seemed to be lost in thought as he stared out of the shrine, at the pelting rain.

"Takashi?" I asked softly, causing him to look at me with a slightly raised eyebrow, indicating that he was listening. "Is everything alright?"

He smiled smally at me and nodded his head as he moved the stray pieces of my hair, tucking it behind my ear once again. I had the distinct feeling that my hair hated me in that time. Takashi's hand strayed on my cheek against, gently cupping it, running his thumb over my cheek, sometimes straying towards me the corner of my lips. My heart started beating heavily, as Takashi leaned towards me. I was soon reminded of me of the dream that morning.

"Makoto..." I heard Takashi whispered, making my eyes snap into to his, noticing how close he was to me now.

"Yes Takashi?" I asked quietly, feeling his breath hitting my lips, causing a shiver to run through my body.

He didn't reply to me as I felt his nose brush against my own. I watched his eyes close partially as his face grew closer to me. I soon found myself doing to the same and soon our foreheads were pressing against one another. The next thing that happened, I could only express that my breath had been literally taken away from me the moment his lips brushed against mine. His lips were soft, slightly chapped, but they felt nice. I didn't notice that his arms tightened around me, or that my arms found their way around his neck.

My mind seemed to have left my head for I couldn't think of anything else, or be able to wrap my mind around what was happening. We pulled away once our bodies reminded us that we needed air. Our breaths were laboured, and our faces were flushed as we looked at each other. We blinked a bit and just gave each other a smile.

Things just got more interesting as the thunder crashed in the sky. We knew we didn't need to say anything, Our actions spoke louder than any words we could use or think of using.


	27. Chapter 27

The rest of the night, Takashi and I stayed in the shrine. After the kiss, Takashi had wished me a happy birthday, and I couldn't help but think that he gave me the best present. I'm not sure how long we were there for, and I think I must have dozed off, for the next thing I knew, when I opened my eyes was that I was being carried bridal style with a blanket wrapped around me. Strong arms were holding me securely as the person walked down the path that we had came up the night before. Looking up I saw Takashi staring straight ahead of him, so he didn't hurt himself or me.

"Ohayou Takashi." I murmured, letting out a yawn while I tried to untangle myself from the blankets.

Takashi paused in his steps and looked down at me, feeling his stare I looked up at him shyly, giving him a smile as he gently placed me on my feet so I could get untangled.

"Ohayou Makoto." He replied as he wrapped an arm around me.

I flushed at this as I pulled the blanket around my shoulders. We didn't move as we looked at one another. I wondered where it would take us now that we've kissed, expressing that we had, indeed feelings for each other. I tilted my head a bit at him, and only received a smile as his arm brought me closer to him, making my eyes widen a bit. I was soon reminded of yesterday morning when I went into Takashi's room, and how affectionate he was then.

"Did you sleep at all last night Takashi?" I asked my cheeks burning as he wrapped his other arm around me, pulling me to his chest.

His nose buried itself into my hair as he lightly kissed the crown of my head.

"Yes, a few hours." He murmured to me as I pulled away from his chest a bit to look at his face with a slight frown.

"Why Takashi? You know it's not good for you to stay up all night." I said frowning more now.

He tightened his grip on me, bringing me closer to him until I felt his breath pass over my lips, causing my cheeks to burn once again and even more when he pressed his lips on my forehead.

"I didn't want anyone sneaking up on us and taking you away." He murmured, making my eyes go wide, before they soften as I pressed a kiss upon his cheek.

"Takashi, that's sweet of you. But you need to look after yourself too. Now, I don't want to hear any arguments when we get back. You're going to take a nap and get some rest." I told him.

He nodded his head in understanding and bent down, pressing a small kiss upon my lips before pulling away with a smile. I smiled back and linked our hands, gently leading him back to the pension. I didn't want him to collapse on the way there, and made sure to be at his side the entire time just in case something happened.

When we got to the pension, we were greeted by the worrisome Tamaki and Mitsukuni, who tried to clung to us, asking if we were alright. I sighed a bit and told them that we were fine, and that we had found shelter from the storm the night before.

"Now please, before Takashi topples over, I would like to get him back to bed. He didn't sleep much last night, insisting on staying up and keeping a look out." I told them, but not telling them that I too wanted to get some shut eye as well.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll be heading out. We just stopped by too..." I was cut off when a squeal left my lips.

Takashi had wrapped his arms around from behind and nuzzled his face into my neck, his warm breath hitting a very sensitive spot there, causing my face to explode with heat. The twins started laughing at this, for they had never seen Takashi act like this before, even Tamaki and Haruhi didn't seem to know what to say. Mitsukuni just gave me a knowing smile, for I still wasn't use to this random behaviour he had when he didn't get enough sleep. But it was Kyoya who came to the semi-rescue.

"Mori-senpai, why don't you take Ryuu-senpai back to the summer home. You both look tired, and I'm sure that some sleep would be best." He said as he adjusted his glasses on his nose.

I gave him a dark glare before feeling Takashi pick me up, causing another squeal to escape my lips. I got amused looks from everyone as Takashi proceeded to walk out of the pension with me still in his arms. I vowed then and there to get back at Kyoya, especially if it was the last thing I would be able to do.

Now that was three weeks back. Everyone, with the exception of Haruhi came back the next week, I coming back a day before everyone else so I could take my driver's test, which if I may add, I passed with flying colours. For the next two weeks, I split my time between my family and Takashi's family. On the weekends, I took my sisters out to the beach before bringing them back so they could spend time with their friends. During the week, I would spend a few days at the Morinozuka's spending the night twice there. Of course, it was mostly Satoshi, who had begged me to stay, so he and I could spar for fun with Takashi watching.

Things between Takashi and I are a little rocky, but not in the bad sense. We've been trying to figure out how to fully bring our relationship out, without revealing to everyone that I was a girl. So far, it's just been in secret, with only the Host Club and our families knowing about it. We also decided that we would take things slow, not that we would go wild with something like this up or anything.

Currently I was making plans with my sisters to go to the mall so we could finish up our fall shopping. Daichi- tou-san was insistent, as well as my sisters, that we got a car, especially since I could drive them now. So Daichi-tou-san gave me one of his old cars that Renji-kun collected telling us that he would pay for the insurance and license.

"Mako-nee! Hurry up! We want to get to the mall before it gets busy! School starts tomorrow too!" Takara whined as she entered my room.

I had been sitting at my desk, finishing up the past of my summer homework when she came in. I rolled my eyes at her and finished up the last sentence, before putting my pen away. Taking this as a sign that I was done, Takara jumped up with a 'whoop' and ran over to Yuzuki to tell her. Shaking my head I stood up, grabbing my keys and wallet left my room to be greeted by my sisters who readily snatched my hands, dragging me out to the car. Along the way out, we met up with Haruhi, who was also going to the mall, and offered her a ride there, which she accepted.

Once at the mall, I parked the four of us headed inside, and went our separate ways, promising to meet up on the roof sometime later in the day. I yawned a little to myself, not having gotten much sleep the night before, and decided to head towards the music store. I wanted to get a few CD's for my car, so I would have something useful to listen to.

While walking up the stairs, I thought I saw something blonde and tried to reason who it was. It looked a lot like Mitsukuni , but I wasn't completely sure. As I walked around the store, I got bumped into someone, or rather, someone jumped onto my back happily, causing me to loop my arms around them to keep them safe from falling.

"Oto-Nee!" I small voice squealed causing me to look over my shoulder and laugh a little.

There she was, a little girl about age five with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. I had met her when she was two, when she became lost at the mall. I had found her since she was crying and took care of her parents found her at the Lost Child station. During our time together, we became bonded in a way I never realized how and I quickly realized that she quite attached to me. She was though, in essence, mine, Takara's and Yuzuki's half sister. She's the daughter of Yuri-kaa-san and her new husband, though I hadn't seen either of them, just her nanny.

"Suzu-chan! What are you doing here? Where's Mika-baa-san?" I asked curiously.

"Suzu-chan don't know. Suzu-chan tell Mika-baa that Suzu-chan saw Oto-nee!" The little girl said, her big blue eyes staring up at me innocently, that I couldn't help but shake my head.

"Suzu-chan knows Mika-baa gets worried over missing Suzu-chan neh?" I said with a tilted head.

"Hai Oto-nee! Demo! Oto-nee is here and will protect Suzu-chan!" the little girl chirped causing me to laugh softly. "Mika-baa trusts Oto-nee!"

"Hai Suzu-chan, hai." I chuckled as I started towards the Lost Child station again, until I heard her stomach growl, causing mine to do the same.

Smirking mordantly, I walked over to the food court, trying to decide what would be the best choice to have. Before I could really decide though, I heard the sound of running feet and felt someone wrap their arms around my stomach, I instantly recognized them and looked down at a smiling Mitsukuni, then up at Takashi, who was walking towards us.

"Makoto! What are you doing here?" I heard Mitsukuni ask, as I laughed softly.

"I'm here with Yuzu-chan, Taka-chan and Haru-chan. We're browsing and getting some last minute items. What are you guys doing here?" I asked with a tilted head.

I felt a little tug on my t-shirt making me look at Suzuki and smiled at her as I shifted her from my back to my arms. This got curious looks from both Takashi and Mitsukuni. I smiled as Suzuki clutched her small arms around my neck, nervous of the two boys.

"Ah, gomen, Suzu-chan. These are my friends Mitsukuni and Takashi." I told her as she faced the boys.

Mitsukuni smiled brightly at the girl, while Takashi gave a gentle smile as he looked at me, causing my face to flush a bit.

"Mitsukuni, Takashi, this is Suzuki." I said to them.

Suzuki soon started smiling at the boys, taking a liking to them as Mitsukuni climbed up Takashi's back and let her hold Usa-chan. I placed Suzuki back on my back and the four of us started walking again. I then explained how Suzuki and I met, and that she had ran off once again from her nanny, and found me. Takashi seemed to find this amusing for his lips twitched upwards a bit, making me nudge him lightly, while Mitsukuni laughed.

"Are you guys hungry? I was just going to get something for Suzu-chan and I." I said looking up at them.

I received nods and lightly taking Takashi's hand, while still keeping the other around Suzuki, walked over to the food court, and decided on a stall that sold both sweets and regular food. Takashi and I shared a meal, Suzuki got a kids meal with a toy and Mitsukuni got something sweet. As we ate, Mitsukuni told us why they, and the rest of the Host Club were there. I couldn't help but shake my head at what they did to Kyoya, and only feeling a tad bit sorry for him.

"Sokka, well, I'm sure he'll find someone to spend the day with. Did you guys at least have the decency to give him his cell and wallet?" I asked curiously, finishing up my fries.

They were silent and I knew that they didn't. I shook my head at them now more than amused with them. I sat back in my chair with Suzuki now sitting on my lap, happily playing with her new toy that she got with her meal.

"Makoto! Suzu-chan! You two should come with us to the roof! They have a show playing!" Mitsukuni gushed causing me to chuckle.

"Well Suzu-chan? Do you want to see the show? After that we can call Mika-baa to take you home." I mused, looking at the girl curiously.

She seemed to think about it before nodding her head, liking the idea. She gave Mitsukuni her cute look; she had really taken to the two of them.

"Hai Itsu-chan, Aka-chan!" she said happily.

I saw Takashi's face flush a bit at the name Suzuki gave him. I smiled though, happy that they got along with her. Suzuki didn't actually know that I was her half sister. After finding her nanny, I asked her about Suzuki, and was told about her and about my mother. I had asked Mika-san not to tell her mistress, my mother, that she had met me, and thanking the heavens that Suzuki called me 'Oto-chan', so Yuri-kaa-san wouldn't know who she was talking about.

As we got up from the table, I was surprised to see Takashi offering to take Suzuki for me. Looking down at the girl, she looked up at him with big eyes before smiling happily as she let him lift her up, and placing her on his shoulders. Her squeals made me laugh as Mitsukuni climbed onto my back. Soon we were heading up to the roof for the entertainment, and I couldn't help but think, that I wouldn't have found a better way to spend my day, than with the Host Club and my family.

But as we walked, I couldn't help but have a nagging feeling in the back of my head and asked Takashi if we could switch. I took the now sleeping Suzuki, while he took the now sleeping Mitsukuni once more. I think he caught onto what was wrong for he then took my hand lightly and gave it a reassuring squeeze, making me smile a bit.

"You and Mitsukuni go on ahead, I'm going to get Suzu-chan back to her nanny." I said softly and lightly kissed Takashi's cheek before scurrying away with Suzuki.

Once I was lost in the crowds, I gently woke Suzuki up, asking her where she was before she saw me and ran to me. She told me the store and I walked over there, before I got close though, I was seized by the arms and roughly forced to my knees, while someone took Suzuki out of my arms, making her cry out in alarm.

"We've found the kidnapped child and the kidnapper." A gruff male voice said.

I looked up seeing two security guards forcing me onto the ground. I didn't resist them, but when I heard Suzuki cry out in fear, my head snapped up, and saw that she was struggling with another officer. We were in a secluded section of the mall, so there weren't many people around to watch and gossip. Soon I was being dragged to the back where security was and placed in a chair, my wrists bound in handcuffs.

While the officers contacted the one who reported their child missing, I could hear Suzuki call my name as she cried. It pained me to hear her cry as I bit my lip to stop myself from irritating the guards anymore than I already did.

"Would you please try to calm the kid down? I can't talk to her kaa-san properly." The one guard at the desk asked irritated.

"We can't. The girl keeps calling for an 'Oto-chan'. We can't stop her!" the guard from the other room replied, in a bit of a snappy tone.

I rolled my eyes at that and crossed my legs in the stiff chair.

"Gomen for speaking out of turn, but I'll be able to help calm Suzu-chan down if it makes any difference." I said calmly as I turned my head towards the guards, who had promptly stopped what they were doing, just to look at me suspiciously, causing me to roll my eyes. "My name is Ryuunosuke Makoto, age eighteen, am in the last year at Ouran High School. Otou-san's name is Ryuunosuke Daichi, common-law with Toshiro Renji. Known siblings Ryuunosuke Takara, Ryuunosuke, Yuzuki, and Toshiro Shun. Blood Type A negative. Okaa-san name was Ryuunosuke Yuri, but I don't know her current last name." I told them.

"OTO-CHAN! I WANT MY OTO-CHAN!" Suzuki wailed from the other room, making me look in that direction worriedly.

"What's your connection with the girl?" I was asked.

"She's my step sister, from my mother's side. I only know this because her nanny, Sakura Mika, told me about her, but never told me a last name." I said, "I know you're suspicious of me, but if you could just let me talk to her, I promise you'll be able to talk to Yuri-kaa-san in peace and quiet." I pleaded.

After a few minutes of them debating, they finally agreed to let me calm Suzuki down. I didn't resist them as they handcuffed my hands in front of me and led me to the other room, letting me in, but not closing the door as one of them kept watch on me.

"Suzu-chan, it's alright." I cooed as I walked over to her.

Seeing me right away, Suzuki ran towards me, wrapping her arms around my waist as she started a new set of tears. I gently picked her up, the best that I could in cuffs and sat her and myself on a chair, where I proceeded to rock her gently, trying to soothe her. She buried her head into my chest as I started humming a lullaby to her, resting my head on top of hers.

I wasn't sure how much time passed, but probably only a half an hour when two people stormed through the door, one I recognized as Mika-baa-san the other, I didn't want to see ever.

"Where is she? Where is my daughter and where is her good for nothing kidnapper?" a female voice screeched.

This had woken Suzuki up, causing her to tremble in fear. I started rocking her again, not so much as fazed by the voice. The first thing I saw coming through the door was long, richly styled brown hair and fiery blue eyes. When she saw me, her eyes widen, and the fire went out. She seemed to stumble back, and Mika caught her, helping her to the chair, while giving me a curious look, wondering what happened. I shrugged nocturnally as I gently shifted Suzuki in my lap as I raised my feet underneath me.

"Yuri-kaa-san, Mika-san." I greeted them calmly.

"Ma...koto-chan... what are you doing here?" Yuri-kaa-san asked hesitantly.

"I was brought here under the charges of kidnapping Suzu-chan, who had parted ways with Mika-chan when she saw me." I replied evenly.

I think my calmness had caught her off guard; for she was use to me being very defensive and short temper, which had, in time, dissolved away unless I wasn't feeling well. We stared at each other for a while as I watched her struggle with what to say.

"Oto-chan... how you know Kaa-san?" Suzuki asked us, while she looked at us curiously.

I watched Yuri-kaa-san's facial features grow pale as she tried to figure out how to answer that question. I looked at Suzuki, then at Kaa-san and knew that I would be the one to tell her.

"You see Suzu-chan, Yuri-kaa-san, is also my kaa-san too. But she left my tou-san for your tou-san. You have two other onee-chan's though. They are very kind and I bet they would love to meet you." I said softly.

Suzuki looked at me in surprise, as did our mother and Mika-san. We were all quiet when the guard cleared his throat a bit, making himself known. We all turned to him and I had to blink, seeing my sisters there starring in surprise and worry as I tilted my hair back, giving them a smile.

"Gomen Yuzu-chan, Taka-chan. I seem to always be getting into trouble." I said with a laugh as they approached me hesitantly before hugging me tightly, tears in their eyes.

"Mako-nee! Why do you always do get into trouble!" Yuzuki scolded, making me smile at them.

"Mako-nee! You're a baka! I knew we should have stayed with you!" Takara added as they hugged me.

I raised my cuffed hands and lightly patted their heads with a smile.

"Gomen Yuzu-chan, Taka-chan, I didn't think coming to a mall would cause so much ruckus. Gomen for making you two worry." I told them.

I caught Yuri-kaa-san's eye, watching as they widen in surprise, and finally understanding. Probably now understanding why Daichi-tou-san had brought me home that day.

"Oto-chan... are these my other 'nee-chan's?" Suzuki asked innocently as she looked up at us.

My sisters paused a bit in their ranting, finally noticing the small girl on my lap and stared down at her before staring at the two women across from us, their eyes widening in surprise at who they saw.

"Okaa...-san..." they whispered, standing up straight now, as Yuri-kaa-san did the same.

"Takara...Yuzuki..." She whispered, at loss from what to say.


	28. Chapter 28

I looked between my sisters, Yuri-kaa-san, and Suzuki and sighed. They weren't saying anything to each other, and I felt Suzuki tighten her grip around me, unsure what to do. Soon my sisters were gripping my shoulders. They were both shaking, unsure about what they should do or say. Because of this, I knew I had to do something about it.

"Yuri-kaa-san, if you would mind asking the security to let me go, I would much like to get these handcuffs off of me." I said breaking the awkward silence that had enveloped the room.

"Hmm? Oh yes, the cuffs..." our mother murmured and nodded her head.

She looked over at the security and nodded her head towards me, indicating that I could be released. The one at the door stood up and started towards me, only to stop when the door to the security banged opened.

"Ba-san! Are you okay? We heard you were being charged!" the voice of Tamaki sounded, making me groan.

Soon the entire Host Club appeared in the room, dragging along an unamused, but worried Haruhi. When they saw me in cuffs, everyone had a different reaction. Some were amusing, others caused me concern.

Mitsukuni lunged himself at me, with tears in his eyes, and hugged me around the neck, being careful of Suzuki. The twins, after they got over the shock, started laughing at me, making me glare at them, along with Takashi. Kyoya just smirked a little as pushed his glasses up. Tamaki had tears in his eyes, and had his lower lip quivering as he hung onto Haruhi, who looked unamused, curious and worried about what had happened. Finally, when I looked at Takashi, our eyes met and I saw that he was concerned about why I was chained up like this.

"Ah... Minna... Gomen for worrying you." I said and bowed my head slightly to them.

"Makoto! We were so worried!" Mitsukuni cried as I lightly patted his head, which was a bit awkward thanks to the fact that my hands were bound.

"Gomen Mitsukuni, I never meant to worry you all." I said softly.

After a few moments of silence, Yuri-kaa-san cleared her throat, making the club members turn to her.

"Are these gentleman and lady your friends Makoto?" she asked and I felt my sister's freeze at that.

"I might be willing to explain everything Yuri-kaa-san, if I get these cuffs off of me." I told her, "But I would prefer to go home and rest since school starts tomorrow." I added on a side note.

Pursing her lips together, our mother nodded her head in agreement and the club let the security guard through. Mitsukuni had gotten off my neck, and was sitting on top of Takashi's shoulders. As soon as the cuffs were off of my wrists, I let out a sigh and stretched my arms out. The twins asked if they could have a pair to play with, but were quickly hushed by my sisters, Tamaki, and Takashi.

"Now, that that's done, yes Yuri-kaa-san, these are my friends from school. No you may not know what I'm doing there, or which school I'm at. Yes I know how unreasonable I'm being, but you haven't been part of my life for five years since I was adopted." I said as I stood up with Suzuki still in my arms.

She was about to protest until Kyoya decided to speak up. For he and Takashi had been the only ones to not speak yet.

"I must apologize for our rudeness, but we must be going. After all, as Ryuu-senpai as said, we have school tomorrow and must finish our summer school work." He told her.

I let out mental sigh, thankful that Kyoya had spoken up before I did. I was getting tired of talking with Yuri-kaa-san, and I knew she was going to protest on this, stating that it was family business only.

"If you don't mind sir, but this is between family members. If you and your... club would mind leaving us in peace, I'm sure Makoto will get back to all of you tomorrow." She said in a strict tone of voice.

I rolled my eyes at her and gently set Suzuki onto the table, for she was gripping me in a death grip. When I looked at her, I noticed that she was afraid of something, which made me worry.

"Yuri-kaa-san, enough of this." I stated, my eyes narrowing at her, "You always do this. You barge into our lives as if you own it, especially when you don't realize that you are being more of a pain than helpful. You did it to your first you daughters, and now to your third. Whose life will you barge into next?" I asked, my tone a bit bitter.

The entire room was silent. Since I hardly spoke out harshly, they were surprised. When I rolled my eyes at them, I picked Suzuki up again, feeling her burry her head into my neck as her body shake, not in fear, but in laughter. All too soon, she was giggling out loud, immediately joined by Mitsukuni, the twins and my sisters, then by Mika-san and Tamaki.

"Mako-nee you sounded like a mother scolding her children." My sisters teased as they laughed harder.

"Hai Ryuu-senpai, you really do sound like a mom when you're irritated." The twins said.

I rolled my eyes at them, and couldn't help but chuckle at them. Looking over at Takashi, I could see the amusement in his eyes as his lips twitched up into a small smile.

"Hai, hai, hai. Get your laughter out of your systems before I ask you guys to spar with me." I teased them in a mock threatening voice, causing them to laugh harder.

I soon turned to Yuri-kaa-san who still looked shocked and shook my head at her before turning to Suzuki, who was giggling at me.

"Suzu-chan, you'll have to go back to Yuri-kaa-san." I told her gently, causing her to shake her head, "Suzu-chan, you know that you'll have to. You can't stay away from your Kaa-san for a long period of..."

"Actually Ryuu-senpai, I think it would be best to bring her along. I'm sure we can take her back before the day is done. If, of course, that's alright with you Susumu-san?" Kyoya said, looking at Yuri-kaa-san now as he pushed his glasses up.

I froze at the name, as did everyone else upon hearing the name, and narrowed my eyes at her. The Susumu clan were a wealthy bunch that had their hands in both the yakuza and landscaping. They were mostly known in the landscaping business, rather than being part of the yakuza. The only reason why I knew of this, was because a few boys in our class were talking about it, unbeknownst to anyone besides myself.

"You married a Susumu?" I asked, my teeth gritting together, "You left Daichi-tou-san for a Yakuza?" I clenched my fist together, that wasn't holding Suzuki.

I turned around abruptly, Yuri-kaa-san had been gaping a bit, her eyes wide in surprise. But I suppose that would be natural, since she didn't expect anyone with wealth to come to a commoner's mall like she did. I handed Suzuki to Yuzuki, telling her to watch over her, and then left security, angry and upset about what I learned. No one stopped me thankfully and I left in a rush, heading in some direction. Usually I didn't run away from people when I learn something like this about them. But this was too much in my mind. I loved Daichi-tou-san, for he was my father, even if not biologically. He was the closest thing I had to one, and there was nothing I could do to repay his kindness and love.

When I thought I was far enough away, I stopped, realizing that I was in front of a plushie store. I couldn't help but smile a bit as I walked inside. It was wall to wall, floor to ceiling, full of plush toys. I walked around, letting myself let go of my irritation that Yuri-kaa-san had bestowed on me with her choices. As I walked around, I spotted a plush kitten from the corner of my eye and walked towards it, picking it up. It was black with a white star around its eye and a white belly.

Smiling at it, I hugged it to me, pressing my face into its soft fur. As I let out a sigh, warm arms encased around me, pulling my back against a firm chest. Already knowing who it was, I turned in their arms, and leaned against them.

"How is it that you always know where to find me Taka-kun?" I asked softly while I looked up at him.

"I keep track of you." He said softly and lightly pressed his lips to my forehead.

I smiled a bit and wrapped my arms around his waist, biting my lip a bit.

"Was it wrong for me to storm out like that?" I asked quietly after a moment of silence between us.

"Iie, you had every right too." He told me quietly and rested his head on top of my own, "Your sisters left right after you did, taking Suzuki with them."

"I'm not surprised, they've told me that they couldn't forgive Yuri-kaa-san for leaving Daichi-tou-san and us after they divorced." I whispered, and felt his arms tighten around me, "We didn't want to burden tou-san when he went to live with Renji-kun, and they were best friends before they got together."

We went silent again, having nothing else to say evolving my family issues. I let out a quiet sigh and pressed my face a bit more into Takashi's chest. He didn't seem to mind as he tightened his arms around me more.

"Stay over tonight?" he asked me quietly, causing me to look up at him with a tilted head.

"Okay, I think it would be a nice way to end summer vacation neh?" I said with a soft smile.

He nodded his head, giving me a small smile of his own, and leaned down, kissing me softly for a few moments before breaking the kiss. I leaned towards him again and kissed his cheek before resting my own against his chest, tightening my arms around him a bit more.

"Are you mad at your kaa-san?" he asked me softly, his hand gently running through my hair a little.

"Iie, I'm not... I guess I'm just disappointed I suppose... I mean... she raised me when I was adopted... and was the most mother like figure I've had." I told him.

He just nodded his head and when I looked up at him, I could see him smile. I then realized I was still holding the plushie in my arms and shyly smiled at him. I saw his smile widen a little bit as he gently patted the head of the cat, his chest moving in silent laughter. I pouted at him, and hugged the cat to my body, pink painting my cheeks once again.

I think it was then that Takashi finally realized where we were exactly. He looked around the small shop, seeing the many plushies on the walls. He raised an eyebrow as he looked back at me, an amused smile placed on his lips. Before he could say anything about the place where I went to, I felt two pairs of arms wrap themselves around my waist from behind. Already knowing who it was, I brought them closer to me, wrapping my arms around them, giving them a squeeze.

"How are you two doing?" I asked softly to my sisters, who pressed their faces into my sides.

"We're fine Mako-nee... we left right after you did..."Takara murmured in my side as her arms tightened around me, quivering a bit.

Yuzuki sniffed loudly and I rubbed her back, kissing both of their heads. I knew Yuzuki was more surprised about how things went, she had been closer to Yuri-kaa-san than either Takara and I, even though Takara was more girly than the two of us.

"Are you two staying at home tonight?" I asked curiously, wondering what their plans for the evening were.

"Iie, Hikaru and Kaoru invited me over for the night after everyone watched us leave." Yuzuki said with a small smile on her face, and her cheeks lightly painted pink.

"And Kyoya-senpai asked me to stay over at him so we could go over some plans for the Host club." Takara said with a soft smile on her face, "How about you Mako-nee?"

I smiled at them, glad that they had people to look after them when I wasn't able to.

"Takashi asked me to stay over tonight." I told them, causing a knowing smile to pass over their lips, "Now, now, before you two leave, I have to give these boys the third degree." I said with a smirk.

Their eyes went wide in horror as they quickly sped off to warn the twins and Kyoya. I chuckled softly, amused at how quickly they moved at the mention of giving the younger boys a speech. I looked up at Takashi, who held an amused look in his eyes at what happened just seconds ago. I smiled at him and gently took his hand in my own, planning on going to the cashier to buy my newest plushie.

As the cashier rang the cat up, I opened my wallet, but a hand covered my own, pushing my wallet away. I looked up at Takashi with a pout, a small whine coming out of my mouth.

"Takashi..." I whined, but he just shook his head, insisting on paying for my cat for me.

"Let me." He told me quietly and before I could protest any further, he paid for my cat.

I hugged it closer to me as we walked out of the store. I mumbled a thank you to him, and kept my eyes and pout on, telling him that I wasn't going to talk to him and was being stubborn about it. He didn't seem to mind this as he casually took my hand into his own while we continued to walk.

"Attention please, could Ryuunosuke Makoto please come to the missing children counter on the second floor. She has short auburn hair standing five seven. Ryuunosuke Makoto please come to the missing children counter. You're Onii-san is looking for you." The announcer spoke, causing both Takashi and I to pause in our walk and look at each other.

"Tamaki... is an idiot..." I mumbled, unamused by this.

Takashi didn't say anything as we walked towards the children counter. As we walked, people stared at me, making me feel like a child, as my face became painted deep red out of embarrassment and anger. Once we got there, I was immediately glomped by Tamaki, Mitsukuni and Suzuki. The latter two I caught in my arms as they jumped and hugged me. As for Tamaki, I gave him a dark look causing him to cower and whine.

"Tamaki, you should know by now, that I can take care of myself." I muttered, "Plus, didn't know realize that Taka-kun was gone as well, so that would have been an even more of a hint that he was probably with me."

"Oto-chan mad at Aki-chan?" Suzuki asked me curiously, for she had never seen me this irritated before.

"Iie Suzu-chan, Aki-chan should just know that Oto-chan is a big girl." I told her with a smile.

I looked over at Mitsukuni, who was trying to not laugh at the way I was talking with Suzuki. Smiling at me, Suzuki jumped out of my arms, giggling as she made her way over to my sisters, jumping into Yuzuki's arms. I smiled, seeing that she was getting along with my sisters. It was a relief for me, for it meant that the four o us could spend time with each other.

"Is Makoto okay?" Mitsukuni asked me, regarding my mother.

I looked over at him and nodded my head, smiling a bit more.

"Hai Mitsukuni, I'm just disappointed in her choice, but I don't hold it against her." I told him.

I looked over at my sisters, who were looking at me and nodded their heads, agreeing with me. We nodded at each other, knowing that when the time actually came, we would confront Yuri-kaa-san and tell her our feelings about everything that has happened.

Looking back at the rest of the club, I saw that they were glad everything that everything was back to normal, for now, and that our decisions right now weren't rash or not thought out. Yuzuki was standing with the twins, as the three of them chatted and teased Suzuki, and Takara was standing next to Kyoya talking to him about something relating to the club. I looked up at Takashi then down at Mitsukuni and with a grin, I could tell that this new semester was going to end up to becoming interesting.

'Let's see how things go with everything that has happened.' I thought and felt a hand gently being placed around my waist causing me to look up at Takashi with a smile. 'Yes, let's see how things will go... especially now that Takashi and I have shared how we feel towards each other.'


	29. Chapter 29

**Note: I just want to thank everyone for their patients with me on my trip of the dreaded writers block; I hope I haven't pushed anyone away because of this. Sad news though, I'm fighting with writers block and inspiration for my stories, plus I'm dealing with a bit of shit that popped up earlier this year, so it will take a little more time to get them out, but I do promise to try and get them out quicker than I have. I know it's not a viable excuse, but it is the truth. I hope everyone will bear with me a little longer. Again, I'm so, so sorry for the amount of time it's been taking me to write for everyone. **

**~Fox's Rose**

School... I never thought I would be so happy to have something to use to get my mind off of the encounter with Yuri-kaa-san. Since she had seen me and my sisters, she had been trying to get back into our lives. It was quite annoying since most of the time my sisters and I were out with the club. So she would leave message after message on our answering machine, trying to get us to call her back. I asked Taka-chan and Yuzu-chan what they wanted to do about our kaa-san, and they told me that since she was the one who left us, that they honestly didn't want to talk with her. In respecting their wishes, we didn't return her calls, and if she came to the apartment, we stayed away from the windows, or made sure we were out with the others.

Now I know it seemed like we were being cold hearted towards her, but if it protected Taka-chan and Yuzu-chan, I was willing to do it. They were still shaken by the abrupt meeting with her and Suzuki, but I didn't blame them for being so cautious. After all family was the most important thing to us, next to our friends. We had told tou-san about the incident with Yuri-kaa-san and he almost seemed relieved that she was married. I had my suspicions about the real reason for that, but kept it to myself, though I was happy for him, for Renji-san seemed to also be relieved at the news. It seemed that he had something hidden from us, but until I was certain of it, I wasn't going to spoil his happiness. But as I was saying, school was helping immensely with forgetting the incident at the mall. Even my sisters were happy to be at school since that meant that kaa-san wasn't trying to get in contact with us.

It was a normal day at the club; I was hosting some of my regulars, listening as they told me about their day and what they did. In turn, I told them how my day was and what my plans were for the upcoming weekend. As the girls told me about their studies and some of their newly developed crushes, everything seemed to be normal. The twins were doing their incest act with their customers while teasing Yuzuki, while Takara and Kyoya were talking about something in hushed voices, probably to do something with the club. Tamaki was flirting with other girls, while Mitsukuni was being his cute self and making the girls gush over him with Takashi was watching over him, and at the odd times casting a glance over in my direction. Haruhi was listening to her customers like I was, and asking them questions which they eagerly and happily answered.

I soon heard a squeal from one of the customers and furrowed my brows as the customers gathered around Mitsukuni and Takashi's table. I excused myself from my customers, so that I could see what was going on over there. As I walked from my table I heard the familiar cries from a small child and some of the girls cooing, trying to settle the child's cries. It was then I noticed that they were all huddled around Takashi, whose back was facing me, walking over to them; I saw familiar pigtailed dark brown hair and furrowed my brows a bit more. There, clinging to Takashi's chest was a small child, crying their eyes out until they heard my footsteps. Taking one look at me, they launched themselves from Takashi and onto me, and started crying harder in my chest as they clutched my jacket tightly.

"Suzu-chan...?" I said in surprise, for I hadn't expected to see her, as I supported the girl's body against my own. "What are you doing so far from home?" I asked with a frown. By now everyone had stopped talking and was now looking at me as I looked down at Suzuki. Yuzuki and Takara made to stand, but I shook my head to them, letting them know that I would handle this and let them know later on what had happened and why she was here.

"Makoto..." Takashi's voice said in front of me and I nodded my head in understanding. Together with Takashi, we made my way over to the other room so we would have a better chance at some privacy. In the room was another couch, much plusher than the ones used for hosting, for it was used for random acts of napping when someone in the club was tired. Sitting down on the couch, I pulled Suzuki closer to me and started stroking her hair while Takashi sat down next to us, lightly placing an arm on the back of the couch where his hand gently brushed against the my opposite shoulder.

"Suzu-chan what happened sweetie?" I asked as I gently brought her away from my chest lightly so that she could breathe and speak and gently wiped the tears from her eyes as the small girl hiccupped while crying.

"Kaa...kaa-san got angry when... when Suzu-chan said that Suzu-chan wanted to see you again!" she wailed and clung to me more tightly as new tears ran down her face. "She said... she said that Oto-nee was... was no good! That Oto-nee would hurt Suzu-chan! That Oto-nee would keep Suzu-chan away from kaa-san, but Suzu-chan doesn't want to be around kaa-san and tou-san!" she sniffled. "But Suzu-chan wants to be around Oto-nee and Oto-nee sisters! Suzu-chan wants to know Suzu-chan's family!" Suzuki wailed as I gently rubbed her back and rocked her back and forth, unsure what to say to that.

"Suzu-chan, how did you know where I was?" I asked the girl softly as she pulled back from my chest and I finally got a good look at her face. It was red from crying, but I also saw some light bruising on her cheeks causing me to frown in worry.

"Kaa-san said that Oto-nee is friends with the Oot...Ootori family? Then Oto-chan must go to Ouran! Suzu-chan asked a driver to take Suzu-chan here so that Suzu-chan could find Oto-nee. Kaa-san and Tou-san don't know Suzu-chan left school to come here... they think Suzu-chan is in daycare." She sniffed and went to rub her nose against her sleeve, but I beat her to it by using one of my handkerchiefs that I randomly kept on me and got her to blow her nose in it a few times. Once she was done, I tossed the cloth into the hamper and gently brushed her hair from her damp face.

Well that explained that, but another question came to mind soon afterwards. "Why didn't you call for me when you entered the room Suzu-chan? " I asked her softly and saw from the corner of my eye that Takashi wondered not only the same thing, but I knew he saw the fading bruise on the small girl's cheek.

"Suzu-chan couldn't see Oto-nee so Suzu-chan went to the one Oto-nee trusted Ashi-nii." Suzuki sniffed as she continued to rub her eyes with the back of her small hands. I had to stifle a laugh at Takashi's new nickname, I actually found it quite cute, but kept that to myself for now. I cast an amused look over at Takashi who seemed to be surprised at the sudden nickname from the small girl. When he caught my look he gave me an amused, small smirk, his eyes getting an amused sparkle in them.

When I turned back to Suzuki, I gently pressed a kiss to her forehead and gently brushed her hair from her face, lightly brushing my fingers against the fading bruise. I frowned at that, and felt Takashi tense beside me, feeling his eyes narrow a bit at the purple mark. While Suzuki hiccupped, still trying not to cry, I couldn't help but feel her tears ran down her face and hit my hand.

"Suzu-chan, what happened to your face sweetie?" I asked softly, feeling the girl tense in my arms, her small fingers clutching my uniform jacket tightly as her body started shaking before new tears sprung from her eyes as buried her head into my chest as she started sobbing again. I tightened my arms around Suzuki, gently rubbing her back while rocking her back and forth.

I knew she wouldn't answer me until she was ready, and felt my heart sink at what could have happened. I rested my forehead on top of her head and closed my eyes, wishing there was something I could do for her. Beside me, I felt Takashi shift a bit, feeling his leg brush up against my own and lightly placed his on Suzuki's back in comfort for her. As Suzuki's cries began fading, she continued gripping my uniform, but as her sobs and hiccups died down, I couldn't help but chuckle softly, for she had fallen asleep against me. I looked down at the small girl and couldn't help but smiled softly as I looked up at Takashi a bit. I saw warmth in his eyes, and couldn't help but wonder what was on his mind.

"Takashi?" I said softly, waiting for him to reply, which he did with a simple 'hm'. "What's on your mind?" I asked him while resting my head against his shoulder. I felt Takashi shift a little, wrapping his arm fully around me and pull me a bit closer to him.

"You would make a good mother." He murmured quietly near my ear, causing my cheeks to heat up brightly. Despite working on our feelings for each other, there were still little things like this, which brought a rise of colour in my cheeks. I always became sensitive to where Takashi was when he was around me and what he was doing. Currently he was lightly running his hand down my arm before running it back up to my shoulder. "The way you handle Suzuki while she's crying, and the way you didn't hesitate to help her shows what you would make a good mother." His voice was tender, full of warmth that I hadn't really heard before.

I looked up at Takashi in surprise at his answer, blinking at him. I hadn't expected him to be thinking that, and when our eyes met, I was equally more surprised to see the amount of warmth and tenderness that were in them. My cheeks heated up a little more as his face grew closer to mine. My eyes fluttered a bit as his nose brushed against my own and his soft, warm breaths hitting my lips before closing the small distance between us in a tender kiss. I found myself, not for the first time, relaxing in Takashi's arms, letting his warmth brush over me. One of my hands moved on their own and gently cupped his cheek, while one of his curled around the back of my neck. A knock on the door broke Takashi and I a part, both of our faces flushed as we straightened ourselves a bit, being careful not to disturb Suzuki.

"Makoto... Takashi? Is everything okay in there?" Mitsukuni asked curiously as he opened the door to the back room and popped his head in. When he saw that Suzuki was sleeping and the position we were in he beamed and skipped over to us, and hopped onto Takashi's lap. "Is she okay?" He asked us quietly, noticing that Suzuki was curled up on me sleeping peacefully, with her hands curled against my shirt. I shrugged my jacket off without disturbing Suzuki and rest it over top of the small girl.

"I don't believe so Mitsukuni; she had an argument with kaa-san about wanting to spend time with Taka-chan, Yuzu-chan and myself. She came here after school instead of going to her daycare." I told him softly and lightly brushed Suzuki's hair out of her face, taking in the peaceful look she had. I felt my shoulders relax a bit with the knowledge that Suzuki was safe at that moment, though I was worried about possible abuse. I saw Mitsukuni frown when I turned to him and Takashi, watching as he lightly patted Suzuki's head.

"I hope everything is alright, she's a sweet girl Makoto." Mitsukuni said as he looked down at his Usa-chan and played with the arms a bit. I gave Mitsukuni a smile and ruffled his head a bit, nodding my own in agreement.

"Ah, she is Mitsukuni, she is." I told him softly as I looked down at the small girl. What could I say? I could never blame her for being the reason kaa-san left my tou-san. She was too innocent to know what had transpired before she was born, and didn't need to know the reason why she never knew us until recently.

"I'm going to go back out! I just came in to make sure that everything is okay." Mitsukuni chirped happily as he jumped off of Takashi's lap and faced us. "I'm happy you two are here to make sure Suzu-chan is safe." He grinned before giggling a bit, an even bigger grin appearing on his face as he spoke again. "Takashi; you and Makoto look like a married couple looking after their child with the way you two are positioned."

With that Mitsukuni bounded out of the back room, probably most pleased with himself as Takashi and I stared after him. My face felt as if it was on fire as his words sunk in and I shyly looked up at Takashi, to see a light blush on his cheeks. Noticing my gaze, Takashi looked down at me before looking away and lightly scratched his cheek, causing me to laugh quietly, amused at how easily Takashi could really become embarrassed. Looking down at Suzuki, I couldn't help but lightly kiss her forehead, tightening my arms around her a bit more as I watched her sleep. I couldn't help but yawn a bit myself, for the day had been less than restful since Tamaki thought it would be wise to have everyone up at the crack of dawn to work on possible themes for the club to do for the rest of the year.

I shifted a bit while resting my head against Takashi's chest, closing my own eyes and kicking my shoes off so I would be comfortable with Suzuki in my arms. The small girl hadn't moved at all since she fell asleep, but she did keep a tight grip on my shirt, as if it was the only thing in the world that could protect her. I felt Takashi's arm adjust itself to wrap around me, letting me settle more comfortably against his chest as he chuckled quietly.

"Makoto, you should rest." He whispered into my ear and gently pressed his lips against my temple, earning him a content smile from me as I curled against him a little more. I could feel Takashi's smile against my head as he ran his hand up and down my arm. "Just... rest."

I must have fallen asleep, for when I opened my eyes, I was laying on the couch, curled up next to Takashi with Suzuki curled in between us. Somehow, or rather sometime during my own nap, Takashi decided to lie down on the couch, and brought us with me, for I was using Takashi as a pillow with his arm wrapped around my waist, securing both myself and Suzuki against him. The only reason why I opened my eyes in the first place was thanks to the sound of a camera going off and a flash of light. I let out a small groan as I buried my head into my pillow and let out a sigh as I closed my eyes once more.

"If you print that picture out Hikaru and Kaoru, I swear that you two won't be able to sit for a week and Yuzuki won't be able to save you." I threatened quietly as to not wake up Suzuki and Takashi. I heard who 'eeps' the scramble of feet as a door opened and then close again. Shaking my head a bit, I looked up and was startled to see Takashi's dark eyes staring into my own, amusement shining in them. I flushed a bit, realizing that he had been awake and had heard my threat to the twins.

"Rest well?" he asked softly, realizing that Suzuki was still asleep between us. I nodded my head and gave him a smile before yawning a bit, I wondered the time was as I felt Suzuki move in my arms and let out a yawn as she stretched her arms out, making a few sounds as she did so. Takashi and I looked down at the small girl and then back at each other as we both chuckled, startling Suzuki as she realised where she was.

"Ohayo Suzu-chan, did you sleep well?" I asked her as she looked up at me with a brilliant smile on her face. She nodded her head eagerly as she buried her head onto my chest in a hug. She then looked over at Takashi and grinned a little more as she turned around and hugged him tightly as well. I couldn't help but laugh at the surprised look in Takashi's eyes attentively patted her head, the warm look in his eyes grew with fondness that he seemed to have grown for the child.

"Hai Oto-nee!" she chirped while looking up at me with a grin before looking up at Takashi. "Arigato for looking after Suzu-chan Aka-nii!" she said with a giggle. It was then I decided it would be best for the three of us to get up. Slowly, I sat up with one arm wrapped around Suzuki, chuckling as she squealed at the action. Takashi followed suit, and sat next to us as I smoothed Suzuki's hair from her face.

"Before we go out Suzu-chan, can you tell me and Takashi why you have a bruise on your face?" I asked her softly, watching as her eyes drop to her lap as she fiddled with the buttons of my shirt and pursed her lips together, as she weighed the options in her head. I frowned at this and lightly tilted her head up so she could look at me, only to have her head turn to the side and puffed her cheeks out in defiance. Letting out a sigh, I lightly poked her cheeks in, causing her to make a farting sound as the air pushed through her lips.

"Suzu-chan..." I said, causing her to look at me with furrowed brows. She shook her head from side to side, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. I let out a sigh as I brushed her bangs from her face and gently ran my thumb over the bruise, watching her face scrunch up in brief pain. "Please Suzu-chan, tell me what happened, you know Takashi, Takara, Yuzuki, the rest of the club and I won't think any differently." I told her softly, while taking her hands in my own.

Suzuki looked from me to Takashi then back again as she weighed her options. Her hands tightened around my own a bit as she nodded her head in submission. I felt myself relax at that and gently rubbed her back as I picked her up while standing. She clung to me fearfully, as if the secret she had been keeping was going to do more harm than good for her.

"Suzuki, do you want to be with the others when you tell us?" Takashi asked quietly from beside me. Suzuki and I looked up at him, seeing that he was looking down at the girl in my arms with a piercing, yet gentle stare. She hesitantly looked back at me before looking back at Takashi again and nodded her head before burying it into my neck.

"Okay then, let's go out to the others, for I'm sure that they're worried about you also." I told her while kissing her temple and started to the door with Takashi at our side. Before I could open the door, Takashi got it for me and let me go out first. I thanked him as I walked out, feeling my shoulders relax when I saw that the club were still there and that it was still light out, meaning that we hadn't slept very long. When Takashi and I walked into the main room of the club, all eyes of the eight bodies in the room turned to us with relief as Suzuki hid her face in my neck.

My sisters were the first ones to run up to us, in worry, closely following were Mitsukuni and the twins with Tamaki tripping as he got up. I gave them a smile and nod, letting them know that everything was alright. I felt Suzuki bunch my shirt in her hands tightly and tried my best to calm her by rubbing her back soothingly. I felt a hand on the small of my back and knew it was Takashi, for he then lightly ruffled Suzuki's hair, causing her to look up at him while nodding her head in understanding.

"There's something Suzu-chan would like to tell us something." I told them gently before they could ask me anything, and felt Suzuki squirm in my arms. "Let's all sit down for this." I mused, and nodded to the chairs and couches that were still up. The others nodded in understanding and we made our way to the couches and chairs. I sat down with Suzuki, Takashi and Mitsukuni, who stole the seat beside me before my sisters could get at it. Pouting, they sat next to the boys that they admired.

"Before we get down to business, I just wanted to let you know that we closed the club earlier due to your half-sister's arrival." Kyoya stated from his seat, the glare from his laptop shone off his glasses, making it almost impossible to tell what he thought on that. I nodded my head though, quite grateful that he did that, even though I knew it was unnecessary since I would, and have dropped everything for my family when they were in need.

"Arigato Kyo-Kyo." I said with a nod of my head, only to have him shrug in response as he began typing once more. I rolled my eyes at that as Suzuki turned on my lap to face the others. It was then I noticed that she had my jacket in her clutches as a sort of comfort as she played with them hems and fiddled with the buttons. "Suzu-chan, are you okay with telling them?" I asked her softly, gently brushing her hair from her face as she nodded her head.

"Hai Oto-nee, Suzu-chan is okay." She said softly while she played with my jacket. "Kaa-san... doesn't like Suzu-chan spending time with Oto-nee's family and friends... she said... she said that Oto-nee's friends were evil... that they would hurt Suzu-chan..." Suzuki sniffed a bit as she remembered the fight. "She also said that Oori-san would hurt Suzu-chan... use her against kaa-san and tou-san..." she grew quiet after that and I felt her tremble in my arms.

I wrapped my arms tighter around her, giving her a small squeeze of courage as her small hands gripped my jacket a bit more. I had a feeling that I was going to gain the cost of dry-cleaning to my debt, but soon pushed that thought out of my mind as I focused on Suzuki again. She looked up at me and I nodded my head, letting her know that she was doing the right thing. She nodded back and gave me small smile, feeling a bit more encouraged by this.

"What else had happened Suzuki?" Tamaki asked softly as he bent forward a bit to hear what she had to say. Turning to him, I sent him a small smile, which he returned as Suzuki started playing with my jacket again.

"Tou-san... when he heard... when he heard that Suzu-chan met Oori-san and the Host Club... he... he hit Suzu-chan... he... yelled at Suzu-chan... calling Suzu-chan a..." she let out a sob while burying her head into my jacket. I rubbed her back gently as Mitsukuni offered her his Usa-chan, which she shook her head and clutched my jacket tighter to her, which clutching onto my hand at the same time. She took a long breath of air before continuing, her voice becoming smaller and quieter as she stared at the jacket. "Tou-san called Suzu-chan a dis-disgrace of the family..." she sniffed a bit more at that as she looked up at everyone pleadingly. "But Suzu-chan would never do that to her family... Suzu-chan only wants to know Oto-nee, Uki-nee, and Ara-nee! Suzu-chan only wants to know the family kaa-san talked about..." Suzuki told us before she turned around in my lap, hugging me around my neck tightly.

I saw Yuzuki and Takara melt at Suzuki's confession, for they immediately stood up and came over to where I was, wrapping their arms around the small girl, telling her that they wanted to get to know her as well, and that she was welcomed to spend time at our home whenever she wanted to. Before I knew it, my sisters and I were standing and were being squashed by the Host Club in a giant group hug. Yes, even Kyoya, and Takashi were pulled into the hug too thanks to Tamaki, the twins and Mitsukuni, the perturbed looks on their faces were enough to make everyone else laugh. Tamaki, the twins and Mitsukuni were adamant that Suzuki could stop by whenever she wished to. Soon the small girl started giggling and smiling again as she declared that she would, much to everyone's joy. I had a feeling that with this news, the twins would probably start dressing her up so she could prance around the Club visiting with everyone.

As the group hug slowly disassembled, the doors to the Host Club were thrown open as the body of Sanahara Mika, an older woman with greying black hair that was pulled back into a tight bun and sharp, quick green eyes. She was Suzuki's nanny, and more often than not, she would lose Suzuki or lose track of the small, energetic girl. Looking over at Mika, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the older woman, for she looked a little frazzled, and she was panting heavily, as if she had just ran seven miles. The Host Club instantly moved aside, brining Suzuki and I into Mika's line of sight and the woman's shoulders sagged in relief as she walked over to us.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, can you two please bring out a chair for Mika-san as well as a glass of water or tea?" I asked the twins. Luckily, they nodded their heads and did what I asked, for they could all see how weary Mika was. Suzuki looked up at her nanny and gulped a bit as she hid her face into the crook of my neck, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was frightened or relived that it hadn't been her parents.

"Suzuki! I have been looking all over for you, child!" Mika exclaimed once she had caught her breath. She made a beeline for us as the child gripped my shirt again. "Gomen Makoto-san, I hope she wasn't any trouble for you today. I told her that you were busy after class hours but she just wouldn't listen to reason..." Mika began to say, but I held up a free hand and gave the older woman a smile.

"Iie, Mika-san, Suzu-chan was no trouble what-so-ever. It was actually a very pleasant surprise to see her come here, the girls simply adored her. Do not worry, she remembered her manners and was very proper. Though, she did get tired, thus I took her to the back so that she may get some sleep, after all, she is still young." I told Mika, who visibly relaxed some more at the news.

"Ah, sokka, I'm just glad that she was able to get to you before without trouble, she has wanted to come see you for days now, but alas... Yuri-sama and Takeo-sama will not allow such visits. They believe that you will destroy Suzuki's future with 'commoner' nonsense." Mika huffed, before thanking the twins for the chair and tea. She sat down and the rest of us followed suit.

"Gomen for intruding Mika-san; but could you explain why Yuri-san and Takeo-san would believe Ryuu-sempai would destroy Suzuki-san's future?" Kyoya asked, professional as always, though everyone else did nod in agreement, for they were curious as well.

Mika let out a sigh, while pursing her lips together, she looked at the eleven of us, for Suzuki had turned back around and was facing her nanny with curiosity. Apparently she hadn't heard of this either, only was told that she wasn't allowed to visit. Running a hand through her hair, Mika patted down and straightened out her uniform.

"Hai, Ootori-sama." She replied evenly. "Yuri-sama isn't absolutely against Suzuki-chan visiting her older half-sisters, after all she does tell her about you three all the time, when she goes to but her to bed, but she is afraid that Suzuki will want to be like you three, and live with you while she is still so young." Mika explained, I saw my sister open their mouths to speak, but were silenced when Mika held her hand up and shook her head. "Demo, Takeo-sama thinks that all commoners are worthless, and are not to be associated with... his thoughts come down from a long line of Yakuza Overlords thus he keeps on with tradition. He wants to pass this thought process down his line and is ashamed that Suzuki-chan doesn't agree with his way of thinking." Mika let out a sadden sigh as she gazed down at her wrinkling hands.

"This is something that I do not agree with, that is why I take Suzuki-chan to the commoner's mall and give her time with you three Makoto-san, Takara-san and Yuzuki-san. She needs to have the care of older, gentler siblings. I had heard from Yuri-sama that you, Makoto-san had taken immense liking to your new sisters when you were adopted into their family, despite not knowing them for more than a few minutes. I thought this would be a perfect chance to let Suzuki-chan know what it feels like to have a protector, not just one, but three." She said softly, with a tender smile.

Everyone was silent as we digested what Mika had told us. I looked down at Suzuki, who had fallen asleep once more and couldn't help but chuckle softly while placing her on the couch, resting her head on my lap, and draping part of my jacket over top of her body. My sisters smiled as they no doubt remembered how quickly the three of us had bonded when tou-san brought me home from the orphanage. I'm not sure what the others were thinking about, but I couldn't help but think of the people who I had taken under my wing and called them little siblings. Now that I really thought about it, I realized that I had done the same with the Host Club. I would gladly put myself in the line of fire for anyone in that room. The twins, Tamaki, Haruhi, Mitsukuni, and yes even Kyoya and our customers. I would never want to see any harm come to them while I was around to stop it from happening.

I couldn't help but smile at that, when my gaze shifted towards Takashi. I knew I would do anything to make sure nothing would happen to him. He was special, like a rare gem that may not stand out right away with its glamour, but once spotted, it truly out shined the others. Well really, all of the Host Club was like that. We were all gems of different cuts, sizes, colours and types, but each of us, when spotted by the right person, will out shine the others and are picked to become polished. It may seem like a silly analogy to use, but if you think of it, it truly works.

"Mika-san; arigato for relaying this information to us, it was most informative." Kyoya said breaking me from my musings as everyone looked at the Shadow King. "But Suzuki-chan is welcomed to come to the Host Club anytime she may wish to, and I say this on behalf of the club, that she will be well looked after and cared for." Kyoya added with his host smile in place.

Sharing a look with the other hosts, I couldn't help but feel that Kyoya had other plans for my half-sister, other than just 'babysitting' her. Mika though, looked very relieved at this and smiled back at the Shadow King, thanking him for allowing Suzuki in and out of the club as she wished. Standing up, Mika turned to me and smiled at how sleepy Suzuki had become.

"I think it is time to take the little one home now. Arigato again Makoto-san, it means much to know that you and your sisters will take care of her without thought." She said softly as I handed Suzuki to her, after my sister's gave the sleeping child a kiss on the forehead.

"As I said Mika-san, it was no trouble, she is welcomed her anytime, all of us will look out for her and keep her out of trouble." I told her with a kind smile, noticing that Suzuki still had my jacket with her. Chuckling softly, I lightly ruffled the girl's head. "Let her keep the jacket Mika-san, I can get another one." I told her, and with another nod, and the exchange of goodbyes, Mika left the school with Suzuki.

On either side of me, my sisters dropped their heads onto my shoulders and pouted. "We never got any time with Suzu-chan today." Takara whined, causing Yuzuki to sniffle a bit.

"Hai, that's because Mako-nee was hogging her all to herself!" Yuzuki whined out as both girls let out simultaneous whines and loud, dramatic sighs. I chuckled and rolled my eyes while ruffling their hair and teasingly pinched their cheeks, causing them to squeal in surprise.

"Maa, maa, next time she comes in you two can dote on her." I told them with an equally dramatic sigh. The others watched the exchange between me and my sisters with chuckles and amusement. Another squeal erupted from my sister's mouths as they latched onto me, putting their full weight into it as we crashed onto the ground.

"Arigato Mako-nee-chan!" they cried out at the same time, their arms crushing my ribcage in their bear hug. All I could do was laugh at them and hug them in return, for their childishness was rubbing off on me, as it usually did. As we laughed, we heard someone clear their throats out, causing everyone but the three of us to look at them as the fading sun casted a glare against his glasses.

"Ryuu-sempai, for a new jacket, your debt just went up by five percent." Kyoya declared, a smug tone lacing his voice as I paused my laughing and looked at my fellow host with wide eyes. My head fell back onto the ground with a thump, and a groan escaped my mouth while I pouted at him.

'Maybe I won't jump in front of danger for Kyo-Kyo... he is the danger himself!' I mentally whined.


	30. Chapter 30

_**Note: So as everyone can see... I'm back! ~ **_

_**Haha; yes I'm back from the grave, well the metaphorical writers grave that is. No, this is not a joke or test to see who is still here. I am back and ready to take on the writing world! With irregular updates to boot! :D **_

_**Just a quick little request, I put a poll up on my page, asking what all you, my awesome readers, would like to see more of in 'Ordinary to a Fault'. I would love to know your thoughts, ideas or anything else you would like to express about the story or would like to see within its many pages. I welcome all suggestions, thoughts, ideas and the like and I will try to put everything in by the time this story comes to an end (whenever that will be). Also don't worry, you will get credited for your ideas, I'm no stealer, just an appreciator.**_

_**Also, if any of you would like a side story (not a song fic) for the sisters also let me know via a PM with some ideas you might have and I can get started on those after I'm finished with this fic here. **_

_**So I hope you enjoy this new chapter! **_

_**~Fox's Rose**_

School went on normally after Suzuki came to the club, my customers all asked about my half sister, stating how adorable she was, how much she looked like my sisters and if she was going to come by again. I told them that Suzuki would be by from time to time, which caused my customers to squeal in delight, telling me that they couldn't wait to see her. Throughout the next two weeks, Suzuki appeared happily in the Club every few days, becoming comfortable with the customers and the hosts. She would talk with some of the customers or join in with some of the antics that Club was working on. She looked happy to be there and I couldn't help but feel my heart warm at the sight.

It was an ordinary day at the club; I was in the kitchen with Haruhi, trying to make coffee. I was searching the cupboards for some more coffee, for I had only found enough for the day, half at most. Across from me, Haruhi was working on getting the cakes cut and placed on the plates so we could serve it later on. She kept one cake full, which would be set at Mitsukuni's table so he and Takashi could serve their customers. After slamming the last cupboard closed, I pinched my nose and let out a sigh, causing Haruhi to turn and look at me curiously and wearily at the same time since it wasn't often I got irritated like this.

"Makoto-sempai is everything alright?" she asked me as I turned around and leaned against the counter, crossing my arms in front of my chest, shaking my head. I started tapping my elbow as I thought about our current predicament, for there were only a few things that could be done.

"Iie Haruhi, we're just out of coffee." I said with a small sigh and watched in mild amusement as her eyes widen before she checked her watch for the time.

"Demo... club will be starting soon." She said as I nodded my head, already knowing that, but I also knew that if we didn't get more coffee soon, it would be added to my debt and them some no doubt.

"Hai, hai Haruhi, I'm aware of that." I sighed as I thought about what to do, "I'm going to talk with Kyoya for a moment; if I'm not back by then I've probably been sent out for errands." I told her, watching as she sighed, but nod her head at the same time in understanding.

When I walked out of the kitchen, I noticed that everyone was just sitting around at the moment, tilting my head a bit, I mentally sighed as I walked over to Kyoya, who was sitting at his laptop a ways away from the others. My sisters weren't going to be at the club today; for they had made plans with their other friends, whom they had been neglecting thanks to the club. I knew though, that my sisters would rather be here helping the club out, but I also knew that their social life needed to continue for a bit longer. Kyoya seemed to sense me coming, for he stopped typing on his laptop and looked up at me as I stopped in front of his table and rested my arms over the back of the chair opposite of where he was sitting. He quirked an eyebrow in my direction, clasping his hands almost mockingly in front of him, on top of his laptop.

"Is there something I can help you with Ryuu-sempai?" he asked me curiously, though, but the glint in his eyes, I could tell he had an idea of what was going on.

"We're out of coffee, there's only enough for the day's clients, but we'll need to get more soon." I mused, resting my head on top of my hands. I saw him nod his head in understanding and continued, "Thus, I'm requesting you to excuse me from duties so I can get some more supplies for the kitchen."

Kyoya mulled over my request as he sat back in his chair, looking at me with an amused smirk that usually indicated I had done something he wasn't expecting. After a few moments, he nodded his head and tossed me a small pouch, which held money that jingled when I caught it. I quirked my eyebrow at this as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper before handing it to me.

"Before you go Ryuu-sempai, I was just curious to know why you came to me with this instead of Tamaki." He mused, causing me to smirk at him. With a chuckle, I pushed myself from the chair, testing the weight of the pouch before pocketing the money and paper.

"Simple, you're the one who really controls the club from the shadows." I shrugged my shoulders a bit as looked at him with a bit of a smile, "Besides you keep tabs not only on the money the club gets, but you have a complete list of our stock, so if something runs out, you usually know." I told him with another shrug. "I'll be back here later today with the supplies." I told him as I turned around, heading towards the doors. I felt the eyes of everyone on my back, watching me leave though I had no doubt that Takashi would follow, no doubt curious as to where I was going. Before I could head down to the hall to my locker, Takashi was at my side, silent as always until we reached an empty hallway.

"Makoto..." Takashi trailed off as he lightly grabbed my arm, turning me to him. His onyx eyes stared into my green ones with furrowed brows, looking concerned. Giving him a gentle smile, I took his hand in both of my own, gently giving it a squeeze.

"Everything's okay Takashi, I'm only heading out to get some more coffee along with a few other items Kyoya wants me to pick up." I told him softly, watching his eyes and posture relax now that he knew it was anything serious. I couldn't help but smile at him and his over protectiveness, the littlest things worried him sometimes, but that was Takashi for you. Leaning up on my tip toes, I lightly kissed his cheek, watching as a small blush appeared on his face causing me to laugh softly, "I'll be back soon okay Takashi?" I said softly and watched as he nodded his head.

"Ah, stay safe on the streets." He told me softly before brushing a stray piece of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear before letting the back of knuckles travel down my face in a feather light touch, before he moved closer to me, "Don't stray too long." He whispered before lightly planting a kiss on my cheek, causing my cheeks to heat up. When I looked at him, I saw the smile he was giving me and I couldn't help but grin back and nod my head, promising him that I wouldn't.

Once Takashi headed back to the club room, I headed to my locker, I grabbed my light beige coat, since it was getting chillier outside and walked out of the school, taking out the list I was given, scanning it a little before stuffing it back into my pocket. I tilted my head back, feeling the sun warm my skin. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I let out a small hum while dishing out the paper Kyoya gave me, scanning over the items he wanted me to get along with the coffee. Luckily, all the items could be found in the market and if I was lucky, there would be a sale on some of them, thus making the trip more worthwhile. Now normally Kyoya got everything shipped in, thus there was no reason to send me or Haruhi out to fetch the items. But, I had a hankering need to get out of the school for a bit, not that I didn't enjoy my time there, but I needed a break.

As I walked down the street, coming closer to the supermarket, I noticed a familiar person, leaning against one of the buildings, lost in thought while looking up at the sky. He was tall, slim but muscular, like Takashi with spiky dark blonde hair, a pale complexion, with a black hooped earring in his left ear. He was wearing faded dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt with a brown leather jacket over top and black dress shoes. On his face was a pair of silver square glasses, making his dark blue eyes stand out a bit more. I smiled in recognition as I walked towards him, watching as he took a drag from his cigarette while letting out a sigh and tilted his head back against the wall to look up at the sky while exhaling once more.

"You do know if you keep smoking those, you'll give tou-san and Shun-kun cancer, right Renji-san?" I stated with a smirk playing on my face, for it was a tendency of mine to remind him about his smoking habit. I knew he was trying to quit, but the job he had as an Event Coordinator was quite stressful for him. I must have surprised him with my sudden appearance, for his cigarette dropped out of his mouth as his head snapped towards me and blinked a bit, probably to see if I was really there.

"Koto-chan..." Toshiro Renji said slowly, as if he couldn't believe I was there. I tilted my head a bit at him and quirked an eyebrow, silently asking him why he looked so surprised. Letting out chuckle, Renji ruffled my hair once I was close enough to him before crushing the cigarette with his foot, putting it out, "I didn't expect you to be out of school now, don't you have that club of yours?" he asked as he pushed himself from the wall to walk beside me and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I do, but we're out of coffee, so I'm out getting that and a few other things Kyo-Kyo needs for the club." I told him while shrugging my shoulders, watching as he smirked a bit from the corning of my eye. We were quiet for a bit, as Renji thought about what I said and myself thinking about how much I would have to spend for the items Kyoya wanted.

"You never really told me anything about these... uh 'club mates' of yours Koto-chan." Renji stated casually while looking at me from the corner of his eye, I choked a bit on the breath I had taken, not expecting that statement. I looked over at Renji as if he had two heads, which only caused him to let out a laugh and ruffle my hair again, "Come on now, tell me about them; I remember Daichi talking about some of them, but I've been meaning to ask your opinion of them." He told me honestly and I couldn't help but smile at him while nodding my head a bit, though I was a bit skeptical about telling him my exact thoughts on the club.

"Well, I suppose I should start with the ones from the youngest of the bunch minus Haruhi since you've met her already." I mused, before nodding my head to myself a bit, I let out a small sigh and a hum before starting, "To start off with, there are the twins; Hitachiin Hikaru and Kaoru; they're two of the most troublesome twins I know and are sometimes worse than Takara and Yuzuki are on one of their bad days. But those two have big hearts, they're loyal and they aren't afraid to stand up for their friends when no one else will." I chuckled softly before continuing on with the rest.

"With the second years, there's Suoh Tamaki, he's basically the ring leader behind the Host Club and Ootori Kyoya, who runs it from the shadows. Tamaki's quite the character I'll admit; he's quite random, childish and will often overreact to the simplest of things, but he has always seen the good in others and tries his best to bring it out so everyone else can see it as well." I smiled a bit at what I said, and could see Renji doing the same from the corner of my eye as I continued on, "Then there's Kyoya, unlike Tamaki, Kyoya is more calculating and mainly takes care of the club's financial actives though he is known for manipulating everyone in the club in some way or form to acquire his means. But those are just fronts that he puts up, behind his cool and harsh exterior, Kyoya truly cares for those he deems worthy and will cross any line that it takes to protect them." I said softly before chuckling a little bitterly, "Though the way he shows his concern needs much improvement, though he does prefer that others don't know what it is he's feeling."

"I see, from the sounds of it, you have quite the personality range Koto-chan." Renji mused with a chuckle, "They seem like a good bunch of guys and from what Kara-chan and Zuki-chan have been saying about the club, I believe there are still two more members that you've yet to mention. I also believe that there is one in particular that I am looking forward to hearing about..." Renji trailed off with a teasing tone and winked playfully at me while my face was dyed scarlet at what he was hinting at.

"...Renji-san!" I squeaked while playfully hitting his arm causing him to laugh full heartedly at my embarrassed reaction, "I can't believe they told you about that!" I whined, burying my face in my hands to hide my flaming cheeks, "I'm so murdering them when I get home..." I grumbled under my breath while Renji just laughed some beside me and lightly patted my head, though if it was out of pity or mocking I wasn't quite sure.

"Oh they just told me you were starting to get some feelings towards someone within the club. It was Daichi who told me you had an extremely large crush on the boy you used to spar with at Kendo when you were younger." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. My hands dropped from my face and my feet rooted to the ground and no doubt my mouth was imitating a fish by opening and closing with no words or sound coming out and I pointed at him with a shaky hand. I had no doubt that my eyes were wide in not only in surprise by mortification.

I was beyond mortified, no one and I mean **NO ONE** knew that I had, had a crush on Takashi when I was younger.

_The first time tou-san took me with him to Kendo practice, I had been sitting on the side lines watching tou-san and Akira-san with fascination that only a four year old could have, with a drawing book and crayons at my side in case I got bored. From the corner of my eye, I had seen someone else, a much younger person, enter to dojo. Thanks to my four-year-old attention span, this new person quickly caught my interest, though due to the fact that I was fascinated with watching tou-san and Akira-san; my eyes kept flitting over to them every so often as I watched the boy. Thanks to my staring, I was caught by the boy who started staring back at me as I swung my legs back and forth in my blue and purple spring kimono that kaa-san had forced me to wear in distaste._

_My attention was drawn away from the boy by a loud crack and the slight panting which came from my tou-san. Without thinking, I jumped from the bench with my tou-san's water bottle and bowed into the mats, having watched my tou-san do it earlier. I made my way over to him as he sat on his knees, taking a breather while Akira-san stood in front of my tou-san with a bit of a laugh. Once at my tou-san's side, I lightly pulled at his sleeve, holding out the water bottle to him when he looked over at me._

_"Tou-san should drink." I had told him with a smile and once my tou-san took the bottle from me, I turned to Akira-san and bowed to him, "Gomen for coming onto the mats without permission." I had apologized quietly, my previous brash nature had dulled over the course of six months that I had been living with the Ryuunosuke's. Before Akira-san could say anything, my tou-san had pulled me onto his lap in a crushing hug while rocking me back and forth with a bit of a squeal._

_"Isn't she just the cutest thing you've ever seen Akira-kun?" Tou-san gushed as he rubbed his cheek against mine. I was still wasn't use to him doing this out of the blue and my face had started to heat up, "Makoto-chwan is such a sweetheart with it comes to looking out for Takara-chan and Yuzuki-chan!" he gushed again while I started to squirm, my eyes no doubt wide at the affection I was receiving in front of a person I had just met, but Akira-san just started laughing good naturedly, for he was probably use to tou-san acting like this. Once tou-san started to calm down, my head was hung and my body limp like a ragdoll for it was useless to fight tou-san when he was in one of his 'moods' as kaa-san had called them._

_"Takashi, come here for a moment before you start practicing." Akira called, though to who, I didn't know, not until soft footsteps fell silent next to Akira, "I would like you to meet Ryuunosuke Makoto-chan; she is Daichi-kun's newest daughter. Makoto-chan, I would like you to meet my son, Morinozuka Takashi, he's the same age you are." Akira said gently while my tou-san's arms fell into his knees on either side of me and I had no doubt that tou-san was grinning like a Cheshire Cat._

_When I looked up through my bangs, I was face to face with the boy I had been staring at earlier. Realizing that he had seen everything that had happened with my tou-san, I felt my cheeks heat up more and I did the one thing every child did when they were embarrassed, I ran. I didn't respond when my tou-san and Akira-san called my name in confusion, for they probably never thought I would run the way I did. I ended up hiding between a Japanese Kerria and a Japanese Snowball Viburnum, with my knees pulled up to my chest and my head buried against my knees. I didn't even know why I had been so embarrassed, or why I decided to flee like I had. Deciding to wait a bit before coming out of my hiding place, I started playing with the flower petals around me, making shapes with them and making small designs amongst the fallen petals. _

_It couldn't have been more than ten minutes at most before I hear footsteps near my hiding place. I stilled my actions and pulled my knees closer to my chest, trying to make myself smaller amongst the bushes before a set of sandals stopped in front of my line of vision and the bushes separated above me. When I looked up, I saw Takashi standing there, looking down at me curiously before offering me his hands. I was hesitant to take it though, due to the fact that many of the boys at the orphanage pulled pranks on me by pretending to be nice, only to push me into bushes, water, ponds, mud or anything else they could find. But when I had looked at his face, I couldn't help but stare at the small, kind smile that was placed there and the warm look that he had in his eyes. I placed mine in his, letting him pull me up until I was standing in front of him and out of the bushes._

_"Would you like to learn Kendo?" He had asked me softly and I could only nod my head as he started leading me back to the dojo, his hand still wrapped tightly and securely around my own._

_When he brought me back, he didn't even look at our tou-sans, just led me to where he had been before, when I had been staring at him and started teaching me what he knew. He showed me how to hold the wooden sword and when I fumbled, he stood behind me and showed me how it was done. I hadn't even noticed that we being watched by our tou-sans nor did I notice that they were smiling knowingly to each other the entire time before they continued on with their practice._

_"It's nice to finally meet you... Koto-chan..." Takashi whispered near my ear, which had caused me to fumble the wooden sword again, this time out of surprise. When I turned to look at him, surprise no doubt showing on my face, he gave me a smile, one that I just had to return._

_"It's nice meeting you too... Kashi-kun..." I replied quietly, the smile on my face refusing to vanish._

A hand waved in front of my face, snapping me out of that memory, the memory when I first met Takashi. Letting out a groan, I grabbed Renji's hand pushing it away from my face as I looked up at the male, a pout clear on my face as I looked at him. Renji just chuckled at my reaction and wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me into a side hug while I hung my head in defeat. It looked like I would never live down the fact that I had not only liked Takashi when I was small, but forgot about him after I was forced to quit Kendo, only to reunite with him at Ouran, but not only that, but start falling for him once again!

"Life is so not fair!" I whined quietly, feeling Renji start to laugh again in amusement while he squeezed my shoulder in reassurance.

"Don't worry about it Koto-chan, the only reason why Daichi told me about that crush was because he made a bet with Morinozuka-san all those years ago that one day you and his son would get together." Renji chuckled a bit more as he no doubt recalled that conversation, "It was quite amusing really, Daichi told me that when Takashi-san brought you back inside after you ran away, that your hands were clutched tightly together and that you wouldn't leave his side until Daichi decided it was time for you both to leave. Then every time he went back for practice that you would eagerly go with him just to see Takashi-san." He added and once again my face started glowing in embarrassment.

"Come on Renji-san! Stop it!" I whined, giving him another pout while lightly nudging the guy in the ribs, "Don't you have to be at work or something?" I asked, hoping he would get the hint and drop the subject of me and Takashi.

"Not until you tell me about the last two hosts Koto-chan." Renji chirped with another laugh as we started walking again, though I had to run a hand through my hair to help calm me down a bit while letting out a groan, I seriously could not win with my family.

"Alright, alright, you win." I sighed, giving in since I knew I wouldn't be able to get out of it anyway, "The oldest of the group is Haninozuka Mitsukuni, and he's also the shortest of the bunch. Mitsukuni is Takashi's cousin and the two of them are very close. Mitsukuni loves sweets, cake, bunnies, everything that is cute and always does his best to cheer others up. But there's more to Mitsukuni than his size and addictions; Mitsukuni is extremely overprotective of his friends and he'll never hesitate to defend them against others." I told Renji with a small laugh at the end, "Those who believe Mitsukuni is weak have never seen him take out a police force single handily." I chuckled at the memory from the Ootori rainforest before my thoughts turned to Takashi on that day and smiled.

"You look like someone in love Koto-chan." Renji mused softly as my eyes snapped over to Renji in confusion, "The look on your face just now, soft, warm eyes, a gentle, loving smile at a single memory, those rosy cheeks which light up a little at the mere thought of your special someone. I've seen that look on Daichi's face many times when he and I have our nights out." He told me gently before I could ask him what he meant and I felt my cheeks heat up a little, "So, tell me about Takashi-san now. I'm eager to hear about him from you." That caused me blush a bit more for he sounded excited to hear about Takashi.

"Well, Morinozuka Takashi..." I trailed off as I tried to think of what I could really say about Takashi, "Well, he's... amazing really," I admitted softly as I tilted my head back to look up at the sky with a smile, "I mean, Takashi is known as the silent type in the club, but that's only because he doesn't waste air with words. He'll speak when he feels words are supposed to be spoken and doesn't mind spending time in silence and enjoying the company. He's very kind and wouldn't hurt a fly unless someone important to him is in trouble or is hurt. He's also very selfless and will often feel responsible for others well being. If something happens to them on his watch, he'll purposely beat himself up, not only mentally, but will act in a way that the other person will either get upset with him and strike him, or do something else that will act like a punishment. Takashi has a very large and warm, open heart..." I trailed off again, this time to let out a small sigh.

"Now it sounds like you're in love Koto-chan," Renji said softly and when I looked at him, I saw the familiar 'proud father' look that tou-san usually got when I talked with him, "Tell me more about him," Renji urged as we entered the market store together and I grabbed a basket to put the items in, his request causing me to laugh a bit at his eagerness to learn about Takashi.

"Alright, Takashi, whether the others realize it or not, only wishes for everyone to be happy. The way he looks out of the others and the way he's always there to listen to others, give them advice or just be a support for them, it really brings out who he is inside. Takashi is truly one of a kind and it's not just the reasons I told you earlier either. When it's just the two of us, Takashi is tender, he is so gentle as if he's afraid that he'll break me like a piece of fine china, but he's also fiercely protective and will put the safety and wellbeing before his own. He's a calm, sturdy presence when it seems that the world is falling apart at the seams. He treasures the small gifts that are presented to him in life and is grateful for the large ones..." I trailed off quietly while picking up the items on the list Kyoya gave me as Renji mulled over what I told him.

I started losing myself in my thoughts, thinking back at the times I spent with Takashi; just the two of us, remembering the expressions on his face, the way his eyes lit up whenever I talked about something that was passionate to me or the way his eyes sparkled whenever he told me about his passions. I remembered the silent times when he and I have sat outside in his backyard just staring up at the night sky, silently counting the constellations we were able to see. Then the ways he would always walk close to me whenever he walked me home, whether it was at night or during the day, he was never more than a foot from me, always within grasping distance if he felt something could threaten me.

"Would you live with Takashi if he asked you to after high school?" Renji asked me and even though I heard him perfectly, my mind didn't quite understand what he was asking.

"Of course... if he wanted me to that is." I answered automatically before I paused and blinked a few times; furrowing my brows as I turned to Renji, "Wait... what was that again?" I asked him curiously, wondering why Renji had a triumphant smile on his face.

"Don't worry about it Koto-chan, do you have everything on the list?" he asked, blowing off my question as I tried to remember the exact words Renji asked me as he and I headed towards the cashier so I could get the items.

"Yes, I have everything Renji-san." I told him before pouting at him, "Now tell me what you had asked me before!" I whined quietly, watching as he just shook his head and give me his secret smile look, a look that told me that I wouldn't find out what he was up to until he was ready to either tell me or show me. Sighing, I paid for the groceries with the money Kyoya gave me and slipped the receipt and change into the coin purse along with the grocery list just so Kyoya could be sure that I didn't add or forgotten anything.

"Not yet Koto-chan, you'll find out eventually." Renji told me with a smile, "Here, I'll walk you back to school alright?" he told me and I begrudgingly allowed him to grab a few bags from my hands.

"Alright Renji-san, it's not like I can win against you, tou-san or Shun-nii anyway." I told him with a sigh as the two of us started back towards Ouran. On the way back to school, Renji started telling me about his clients and the projects he had been doing. One of his clients had apparently booked him specifically for a Halloween Gala that they were hosting on Halloween night.

"This client is giving me free range to design the hall. The only thing he's given me is what he wants in the room as side attractions besides food, drinks, and an orchestra to his guests to dance to. He's one of the wealthy since he wants high end food and drinks, but other than a few requirements on his part, he's leaving everything else up to me. Apparently it's a costume party as well so it will be interesting to see things in motion on the big day." Renji mused while I chuckled.

"That would be amazing though," I couldn't help but tell him with a smile, "I mean not only planning such an event, but getting to decorate the hall entirely for Halloween would be a treat!" I laughed as I pictured the different costumes in the hall. I heard Renji chuckle next to him as he ruffled my hair playfully.

"You seem more excited about this than I am." He teased as I looked up at him with a grin.

"Of course I am; you know Halloween is my favorite time of the year." I laughed as we reached the gates of the school, "Well this is my stop Renji-san." I told him after stopping. Renji looked at the school and let out a whistle at the size of the school before shaking his head in disbelief.

"How can I forget? You always dress up for it, every single year." He teased me while I stuck my tongue out at him and grabbed the bags from his hands, "You know that Daichi and I are proud that you got into this school right?" he told me seriously, but his eyes were soft and warm. I nodded my head, giving him a smile, I knew how proud they were, and for a week straight both he and tou-san kept telling me how proud they were of me.

"I know Renji-san, I know." I told him softly with a smile. We embraced, as we normally did whenever we were parting and he gave me a small squeeze. From inside the school yard, I could feel a pair of eyes on us, a curious pair, who were no doubt wondering about Renji. Having a feeling about who it was, I mentally chuckled to myself about the reactions the others would get when I told them who exactly Renji was and how i knew him.

"Keep that Takashi close Koto-chan, you might never find someone like him again." He whispered into my ear softly as we pulled away. My cheeks heated up at that and I could only mutely nod my head at him, "Good girl, after all you just got him back haven't you? There's no point letting having him disappear on you again, especially since you have such strong feeling for him." He said softly with a smile at that and ruffled my hair once more before pressing a kiss to the crown of my head, "Tell Kara-chan and Zuki-chan 'hi' from me alright? And bug them to come over for a few days, we never see you girls enough." He added with a teasing wink causing me to shake my head at him and turn around to head into the school yard.

"I'll let them know Renji-san, but you might have to fight off the twins and Kyoya to get to them." I teased him, only to watch as a cocky smirk appeared on his face and I knew that he wouldn't hesitate on doing just that.

"That wouldn't be a problem Koto-chan." He chuckled as he pulled out one of his cancer sticks and no doubt was digging out his cell, lighting it up and taking a drag, "You better head in before they send the police after you." He teased me while I rolled my eyes at him, "Oh and Takashi is a lucky guy to have you to care for him like you do." He added causing me to stick my tongue out at him, my cheeks no doubt glowing from his comment before I started heading into the school yard and I swear you not, I thought I heard him say, in a cocky tone to someone two words.

"... I win."


End file.
